The recent year has already started well for Spain's top coach Guillermo Arizkorreta. On January 4, the 13-time champion celebrated his 1,000th win in the country when Liam Norris' home-bred Stellaris (GB) (Recoletos {Fr}) won at Pineda.
By now Arizkorreta should have landed in Dubai, where he has already made history by saddling the first Spanish-bred and trained winner of the Carnival in 2012, Plantagenet (Spa). The son of Trade Fair (GB) returned to Dubai the following season, winning again, and this year his trainer sent his largest team of six horses to Meydan to extend his impressive record overseas.
“We try to travel as much as possible. We have had a lot of runners in France recently and we also like to travel further afield,” says Arizkorreta, a former leading amateur rider who has seen a lot of the racing world in his time, taking part in the Fegentri series and later working for Luca Cumani in the United Kingdom, Con Collins in Ireland and his compatriot Carlos Laffon-Parias in France.
He finally returned home, just in time for Madrid's La Zarzuela racetrack to reopen for racing after a nearly ten-year hiatus. It's fair to say that Arizkorreta has dominated his country's racing scene ever since. He wouldn't say it himself, though, because he's far too reserved and he laughs at the suggestion that he is Spain's answer to Andre Fabre.
“Well, I come from the same city as Andre Fabre – he was born in San Sebastián,” is his only admission on that front.
Of his immediate international plans, which include two runners at Meydan on Friday in Sky Hawk (GB) (Advertise {GB}) and Thundering (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), he says: “My biggest customer was Er had a few horses in Dubai in the past and was keen to have more there this year. We plan to send handicappers to the races that have good prize money – horses rated 80, so to speak. We bought a few at the Horses-in-Training Sale in Newmarket and sent a few that ran in Spain. “
Six-year-old Thundering will make his debut for Arizkoretta and his owner Horses & Berries, having won twice for Kevin Ryan before changing hands at Tattersalls last October. Sky Hawk was purchased from the same offer a year earlier after completing a start for Richard Fahey. The four-year-old is now a two-time winner in Spain and finished second in a further four of his eight starts last year.
“In total we have had horses in Dubai six or seven times now,” says Arizkorreta. “It's very challenging to win there. We had a few places and the horses generally ran well, but it is very competitive. I thought about going to Bahrain but in the end I didn’t find a horse but I hope to have a runner in the International Handicap in Saudi Arabia.”
Guillermo Arizkorreta at Tattersalls in Newmarket | Laura Green
In addition to one of his proudest days on home turf when he won the listed Gran Premio de Madrid for the first time with Madrileno (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) in 2016, Arizkorreta has gradually built up a decent usage record and despite the closeness of the black Racing driver in Spain, now has ten race victories to his name. This includes a double on arguably the biggest day of his career to date, when he won back-to-back Group races on the same card in Baden-Baden. Kitty Marion (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) took the G3 Golden Whip and was quickly followed into the winner's enclosure when Rodaballo (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) won the G2 Oettingen race.
“We have been lucky in our travels and try to go to France as often as possible as it is not too far from Madrid,” he says. “Maybe 20 to 25 percent of our runners are in France. We find suitable races wherever we can – in Germany, Switzerland or Italy. We love traveling.”
The trainer's most recent notable success in France came last October with Listed Grand Criterium de Bordeaux winner Bulnes (Ire) (Galileo Gold {Ire}). Last year his stable included not only this best two-year-old colt in Spain, but also the country's leading newborn filly, Octans (Spa) (The Gray Gatsby {Ire}). While Bulnes will remain in the Spanish capital in the countdown to the national 2,000 Guineas race (Gran Premio Cimera) in Madrid at the end of April, Octans is already in Dubai where she will try to repeat her impressive record from last year of four wins and one second to improve from five starts.
“We will try to get her in the sun and do a few races in Dubai before she comes back and then their destination is Spanish Guinea [Gran Premio Valderas]says Arizkorreta, who has been based in La Zarzuela since 2006. The stunning racecourse, which features downtown Madrid as a backdrop, also functions as the country's largest training center, with just over 400 horses from resident trainers.
Another Arizkorreta winner in the circle of La Zarzuela, Madrid | Emma Berry
“The Madrid racecourse still has good prize money and is still very popular with the locals, but racing in Spain is certainly not increasing. In total, around 800 horses are in training in the country and take part in around 400 races every year,” says the trainer.
As this week's cover star for Spanish racing magazine A Galopar, Arizkorreta would certainly give his home country's racing fans plenty to cheer about if he could strike again on the international stage in the Middle East. While Alcaraz (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), a relative of Treve (Fr) who he bought from Jean-Claude Rouget's stable last year, is expected to represent him in Riyadh, the team in Dubai includes the well-bred Shamran ( GB) (Kingman {GB}), another recent purchase, this time from breeder Imad Al Sagar and trainer Harry Charlton, at Tattersalls last October. The four-year-old, rated 82, could be in action at Meydan as early as next week.
This action may be competitive, but it would be no surprise to see Spain's flag flying in Dubai once again, thanks to the country's most enterprising coach.
