Saint Baudolino was a hermit who lived at the time of the Lombard king Liutprand in Forum Fulvii, a locality on the lower reaches of the river Tanaro in north-west Italy. He is said to have been the son of a noble family, but to have given all his wealth to the poor before moving to a miserable hut near the river. He is the patron saint of the nearby city of Alessandria, where his feast is celebrated on the Sunday following the 10th of November. Chantilly 3.15 Saint Baudolino 10/1 Trained by the master Andre Fabre, by Pivotal out of the Sunday Silence mare Alessandria, this smartly named colt didnt see the track until March this year which suggests he has taken some time to come to hand and that is backed up by the forgiving nature of the rides he was given on his first 2 starts when twice finishing second as favourite. He made no mistake at the third attempt and put in an improved performance stepped up in class when taking the Group 3 Prix De Guiche after meeting trouble in running, showing great acceleration and battling qualities in the process, attributes that will be invaluable in this 20 runner field. Of the main runners, French Fifteen is a doubtful stayer and dosent have the best of draws, Aiden Obrien has a 0 from 23 strike rate in the race which is off putting for Imperial Monarch, the unbeaten Kesampour is dangerous from a good draw but I think he lacks the necessary turn of foot that is so often needed to win this race and Ektihaam's form has been let down slightly by Bonfire's no show in the Derby. Of the outsiders I can see Hard Dream running well but im not sure he has the required class to win. Overall, im fairly confident of a big run from Saint Baudolino with the top young jock in France Maxime Guyon aboard, he is well regarded, well drawn, he has the gears and with the negatives I see for the other main protagonists, I think he represents a decent value bet at 10/1.
