By Adam Houghton
Forty-five years on from the success of the Ian Balding-trained Glint Of Gold in the Paul Mellon silks forever synonymous with Mill Reef, Andrew Balding emulated his late father at Milan's San Siro Racetrack on Tuesday as the blue-blooded Venetian Prince (St Mark's Basilica) emerged victorious in a pulsating finish to the G2 143rd Derby Italiano.
German challenger Salitos (In Swoop) and last month's G3 Premio Parioli (Italian 2,000 Guineas) hero Grand Son Of Dark (Dark Angel), bidding to keep the prize on home soil, looked to have the race between them when moving to the front early in the straight, with Venetian Prince still having several lengths to make up as he came under a power-packed drive from Jason Watson.
Gradually, Watson's galvanising efforts began to pay off, with his mount really starting to motor in the testing conditions once switched towards the near-side rail. Collaring Salitos well inside the final furlong, Venetian Prince appeared to relish the step up to 2,200 metres as he hit the line with a neck to spare over the gutsy Grand Son Of Dark, who edged out the tiring Salitos by a nose to snatch the runner-up spot.
“No, it was a bit of a guess,” said Balding when asked whether he was always expecting Venetian Prince to improve for the step up in distance, having finished 10th in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket when last seen.
“It's difficult in a big field like that and with the [heavy] ground. When they all spread out, we didn't know quite how we were going. But I was delighted with the ride as well. Obviously, Jason started with us as an apprentice and rides regularly for us, so I was thrilled for him.”
He continued, “If he comes back alright, I'd imagine we'd probably go to the [G2] King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. He doesn't get a penalty for that and he obviously stays well. Watching him today, he looked like another furlong would be right up his street.
“He's not built like a middle-distance horse, but the mare [Arabian Queen] is just amazing – Spirit Mixer can win a Northumberland Plate and See The Fire could win a Group 1 at a mile.”
Balding added that, in addition to his own realisation of a long-held ambition, winning such a prestigious prize for a staunch supporter of Kingsclere such as Jeff Smith was the source of “huge satisfaction”.
“It's a race I've always wanted to win. My dad was lucky enough to win it in 1981 and I remember it well,” the trainer said of Glint Of Gold's triumph in the very first edition of the Derby Italiano open to horses born and bred outside of Italy.
“We've had a couple of near misses since, so, yes, we're thrilled. Anna Lisa [Balding's wife] is out there, along with Fabrizio Specchio, who is one of my head lads. He's Italian and he always takes Derby week off. He took that off before he even knew that we had a runner, so that was lovely that he was out there.
“Their flight has just been cancelled, but she [Anna Lisa] won't care!”
On Friday, it will be 55 years to the day that the great Mill Reef won the Derby for Ian Balding, who died in January at the age of 87. Having already emulated his father once this week, now the man at the helm of Park House Stables can focus his attention on trying to make his own breakthrough in the premier Classic when the unbeaten Dante winner Item (Frankel) goes to post at Epsom on Saturday.
“It would be nice if there is another Derby we can run well in this week,” Balding added. “That will be a different race altogether, but this is very nice.
“I'm very pleased with Item. I'm just hoping the next few days go smoothly, but we're all set. I've no worries about the rain and it's not going to be heavy ground. If they get more rain, then so be it – it is what it is. He goes there having done nothing wrong so far.”
Pedigree Notes
Venetian Prince, who becomes the second European Classic scorer from the first crop of St Mark's Basilica after Prix de Diane heroine Diamond Necklace, is one of six winners from as many runners out of the aforementioned Arabian Queen (Dubawi), the winner of the G1 Juddmonte International when taking the notable scalp of Golden Horn in 2015.
Arabian Queen's sextet of winners bred from Jeff Smith's Littleton Stud also includes the multiple Group 1-placed See The Fire (Sea The Stars), who recently won the G2 Middleton Fillies' Stakes at York for the second consecutive year. Venetian Prince's other siblings include the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes runner-up Royal Playwright (Lope De Vega) and Listed King Charles II Stakes third Arabian Storm (Kingman), plus the aforementioned Northumberland Plate hero Spirit Mixer (Frankel). Arabian Queen's two-year-old filly by No Nay Never has been named Forbidden Fire.
Arabian Queen, in turn, is the leading performer for dual G2 Lancashire Oaks victrix Barshiba (Barathea), herself kin to Listed Stonehenge Stakes victor Doctor Dash (Dr Fong) out of Listed Upavon Fillies Stakes runner-up Dashiba (Dashing Blade). This is also the family of the dual G1 Irish St Leger winner Oscar Schindler (Royal Academy), G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Northern Treasure (Northfields) and G1 Oaks d'Italia victrix Paris Royal (Mill Reef).
🇮🇹143e Derby Italiano
Milan – Groupe 2 – 3 ans – 2200m – 16 Pts – 640 200 €🏆 🥇Venetian Prince (m3) (Gb) 🏇J. Watson @_JasonWatson
🥈Grand Son Of Dark
🥉Salitos📖(St Mark Basilica (Fr) @coolmorestud – Arabian Queen (Ire) par Dubawi (Ire))
🕶️Andrew Balding… pic.twitter.com/WN8AwL8zYG
— French and International Horse Racing (@Vincenzo0612) June 2, 2026
Tuesday, Milan, Italy
PREMIO 143ESIMO DERBY ITALIANO (ITALIAN DERBY)-G2, €640,200, Milan, 6/2, 3yo, c/f, 2200mT, 2:16.30.
1–VENETIAN PRINCE (GB), 128, c, 3, by St Mark's Basilica (Fr)
1st Dam: Arabian Queen (Ire) (G1SW-Eng, $1,041,559),
by Dubawi (Ire)
2nd Dam: Barshiba (Ire), by Barathea (Ire)
3rd Dam: Dashiba (GB), by Dashing Blade (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-J. C. Smith. B-
Littleton Stud (GB). T-Andrew Balding. J-Jason Watson.
€247,350. Lifetime Record: 7-2-2-0, €298,453. *1/2 to
Arabian Storm (Kingman {GB}), SP-Eng; Sea The Fire (GB) (Sea
The Stars {GB}), Hwt. Older Mare-Eur &Eng at 9 1/2-11f,
MGSW & MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $1,372,135; and Royal
Playwright (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), MGSP-Eng, $110,161.
Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Grand Son Of Dark (Ire), 128, c, 3, Dark Angel (Ire)–Chica
Bonita (GB), by Lope De Vega (Ire). (£52,000 Ylg '24 GOFAUG).
O-Fabio Manservigi. B-Alexander Bloodstock (Ire). T-Endo
Botti. €108,834.
3–Salitos (Ire), 128, c, 3, In Swoop (Ger)–Sacre Fleur (Ire), by
Acclamation (GB). *1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
(€36,000 Ylg '24 BBAAUG). O-Liberty Racing 2024 Platin. B-Mr
Klaus Scholer (Ire). T-Peter Schiergen. €59,364.
Margins: NK, NS, 2. Odds: 10.48, 7.79, 23.15.
Also Ran: Bright Light (Fr), Arkansas (Fr), Bruxelles (Ity), Pashang (Ger), Hello Jo (Fr), Archer's Bay (Ire), Camponanes (Ire), Quantas (Ire), Topo Cinese (Ire), Ex Animo (Ire), Dr Omran (Ire), Dear Enemy (Ger), Dastan (Ger).
Click for the Grande Ippica Italiana chart & video.
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