Appleby thrilled as Escobarr delivers Italian job perfectly

A long-held plan came to fruition for Mick Appleby when Roberto Escobarr strode to victory in the Italian St Leger.

The Galileo gelding was previously trained to Group Three success by William Haggas before being sold to new connections for 40,000 guineas.

The Premio St Leger Italiano, the Italian St Leger, was the plan from the outset and Marco Ghiani headed to his homeland to ride in the Group Three San Siro contest on Saturday.

It was light work for the bay in a field of seven as he made all of the running and then pulled away to an easy eight-and-a-quarter-length victory.

“He did it very well, we were very impressed with him,” said Appleby.

“From the start, when we bought him (in September), that was always going to be the aim.

“That’s mainly what we bought him for, we thought we’d have a good chance in it provided the ground was going to be decent and it was.

“The plan came off, and it’s not very often that happens!

“I said to Marco that there weren’t any obvious front runners, a couple of German horses had led before and had a decent chance, but if he could pinch it from the front then just bowl along and go with it.”

All-Weather Finals Day could now be the target, with further travels to the Middle East also under consideration for the six-year-old.

Appleby said: “He’s nearly paid for himself now, we’ll have to sit down and make a plan for him. I’d like to get him qualified for Good Friday and then maybe Super Saturday could be an option in Dubai.”