Bred at leading German stud farm Gestut Ittlingen, Scalo was precocious enough to win as a two-year-old and he became a leading performer at three, winning the Gr.1 Preis Von Europa over a mile and a half at Cologne, in addition to two further Group Three races in his homeland. He also won the Gr.2 Prix Guillaume D’Ornano in France. The following year he scored at Group Two level in Germany, was beaten a neck in Italy’s Gr.1 Gran Premio Di Milano, and then finished second to subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Danedream in the Gr.1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin.
Scalo comes from a high-class family and is a son of the Exit To Knowhere mare Sky Dancing. He is a full-brother to the German Group-race winner Sound, and a half-brother to French Group Three winner Sexy Lady and to Stakes-placed Scolari.