THE Italian Derby last weekend, now a Group 2 race and run over 11 furlongs, was won by Summer Festival, a €12,000 Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sale purchase by Alduino Botti back in 2016. The three-year-old son of the now deceased Poet’s Voice (Dubawi) has now been successful in six of his eight starts and won €390,000 in prizemoney.

Botti purchased the colt from Creighmore Stables and he was pinhooked successfully, having cost Michael O’Brien 5,000gns as a foal from the consignment of Keith Harte at the previous year’s December Sale. Summer Festival is the second winner from the first three foals of his Diktat (Warning) dam Kammaan. The only non-winner is the four-year-old Lesanti (Royal Applause) and he will hopefully land a victory soon. Kammaan has a two-year-old filly Maerchengarten (Bated Breath) to run yet.