Can Love Conquer All?

Customarily, when a Ballydoyle VIP attracts the kind of support that Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has in the lead-up to Saturday's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. at Ascot, it is more than a subtle pointer to the eventual outcome. Whether the filly who so readily dispatched of her peers in last year's G1 1000 Guineas, G1 Epsom Oaks and G1 Yorkshire Oaks has this inspiringly-crafted renewal “locked down” depends not only on the strength of the opposition but also on the volatile weather. A renowned “daisy-cutter” who had fast conditions in her favour when returning to garner the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at the Royal meeting here June 16, the chestnut could literally have the ground underneath her shift if the storms hit hard. Up to 13mm of rain is forecast overnight, which brings Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) heavily into the equation and favours the 3-year-old colts Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Lone Eagle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who already have the advantage of an eight-pound pull due to weight-for-age.

Love also has the question mark hanging over her concerning the kind of opposition she has so far faced, having met only four members of the other sex, all in the Prince of Wales's where her stablemate Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was just 1 1/2 lengths behind. Old-stager Desert Encounter (Ire) (Halling) was only 4 1/2 lengths back on that occasion and he is nowhere near this level these days, so it may be that the filly has something to prove here despite the positive vibes. “She ended up making the running in the Prince of Wales's, but she's very straightforward and very genuine and everything has gone well with her since,” Aidan O'Brien commented. “She's very versatile–she had the pace to win a Guineas and seemed to get the Oaks trip very well but we want nice ground as she's a nice mover.”

Ryan Moore has hit a seam with the stable's Group 1 runners in the past three weeks and added, “This is possibly a deeper race than the betting would have you believe. She was obviously an exceptional 3-year-old and we were delighted with her reappearance win in the Prince of Wales's S. here, as she wouldn't have been fully tuned up then. There could easily be more to come from her too and I think it is fair to say she is the one to beat if it stays fast. She is a top-class racehorse.”

If the weather turns, Christopher Wright's Wonderful Tonight will be poised to strike and after what happened in the course-and-distance G2 Hardwicke S. June 19 she will be a key member of the select party in the case of the ground easing significantly. This time last year, she was being put in her place by Valia (Fr) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in ParisLongchamp's Listed Prix de Thiberville, but her subsequent ascension has been remarkable and she is a true elite performer now. Finding two stones of improvement through wins in the G3 Prix Minerve at Deauville in August and the G1 Prix de Royallieu back at ParisLongchamp and G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot in October, she showed the kind of acceleration when dealing with Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the Hardwicke that wins these kind of races.

“She has everything,” trainer David Menuisier said earlier this week. “The will to win and the strength. She's sweet but assertive. She knows what she wants in life and that translates to the track. She does everything actively, she's a busy bee. This filly, on very soft ground, does not need to make an effort when others do. Even when she's lacking fitness, that gets her there because the others get tired.”

While this race used to be the second port of call for winners of the G1 Epsom Derby after the Eclipse and Irish Derby, that is no longer the case and it came as something of a mild surprise when Charlie Appleby committed Adayar to the cause this year. There have been mitigating circumstances for the void of Derby heroes appearing here, with injuries and the weather intervening to scupper some best-laid plans. Of the trio who have tried the lauded double since the success of Galileo in 2001,  Kris Kin (Kris S.) managed a third placing in 2003 despite being one of the lesser Epsom winners since the turn of the century and both Workforce (GB) (King's Best) and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) had excuses when finishing out of the frame.

Adayar looks at this stage to be one of the better blue riband heroes of recent times, with the form of his June 5 romp subsequently upheld by the exploits of stablemate Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and others including the GI Belmont Derby winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Until proven otherwise, the Appleby yard seems to have the two best middle-distance colts of their generation and now that Hurricane Lane has upped the ante the ball is in Adayar's court again. “It hasn't been done since Galileo, so to take Adayar there is a huge occasion,” his trainer said. “What surprised us at Epsom was the turn of foot he showed halfway up the run-in, because we'd never seen it before. Post-race we analysed it and Hurricane Lane probably wouldn't have been able to quicken like Adayar did.”

“We've seen what St Mark's Basilica did for that generation in the Eclipse at Sandown and now the 3-year-olds go into the big-boy division over a mile and a half,” Appleby added of the homebred, who is only the second runner for his sire in this and the first to trade at short odds. “I'd love to think he's still developing. It will be interesting to see what the paddock watchers say on Saturday, but he looks fantastic and I'd be confident if you didn't know who he was, you couldn't pick him out as a 3-year-old among the older horses.”

Ballylinch Stud and Aquis Farm's Lone Eagle was missing from the Epsom line-up due to a late setback and based on his impressive win under a penalty in the Listed Cocked Hat S. at Goodwood May 21 he would have been in the mix. Subsequently denied late on when second in the G1 Irish Derby at The Curragh June 26, the homebred has the scope to progress again. “It's all systems go and we hope he can go one place better, but if we learned anything at The Curragh it was to put up with disappointment,” trainer Martyn Meade said. “It was just the worst thing, getting done on the line. He was so far clear two out and we were just about reaching for the champagne at the furlong marker, so it was hard to bear.”

Prince Faisal's Mar. 27 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) has the most weight to carry along with Broome, but he remains a colt with the quality to have a say shaping fitter for his comeback third in the G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown three weeks ago. “He's doing well. It's obviously a tough race–most of the top horses around seem to be heading there,” Thady Gosden said. “He's come on for his run at Sandown and goes there in good enough form. He obviously ran in February and March and it's a long time to keep them going all season, so we thought we best give him a break before the summer.” Aidan O'Brien gave an indication that Broome could set the pace as he said, “He loves to bowl along. In an ideal world you'd like to get a lead, but he is a horse who likes an even tempo. We'd be delighted if someone gave him a lead–if not he'd bowl along himself, I suppose. He's in good form and seems to have come out of his last race well.”

Ballydoyle are also represented by the aforementioned Armory in the G2 Sky Bet York S., where he has to give 12 pounds to the sole 3-year-old Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Despite his Group 1 credentials, that is a tough task given that Shadwell's  G3 Hampton Court S. winner is held in such high regard by William Haggas. Racing manager Angus Gold said, “I'm very much looking forward to seeing Mohaafeth run. We've waited for this race particularly and William and his team have been very happy with him. Let's see if he can take the next step and go from there. He's an exciting horse and one to look forward to and obviously he's done everything right this year. Hopefully there will be no excuses and we can see how we get on.” Aidan O'Brien said of Armory, who was very much on the premises in the Prince of Wales's, “We thought this looked a nice race for Armory. It's 10 furlongs on hopefully good ground and that is what he wants. Hopefully he'll run well.”

Back at Ascot, the G3 Princess Margaret Keeneland S. over six furlongs for 2-year-old fillies sees the June 26 Listed Empress Fillies' S. first and second System (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) and Desert Dreamer (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) renew rivalry. The latter has subsequently been back to Newmarket to finish runner-up in the July 9 G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. and trainer Stuart Williams is hoping she can gain due reward for her consistency. “We were very happy with her run in the Duchess of Cambridge,” he said. “She seems to have come out of the race really well, so we're looking forward to running her on Saturday. She's very tough and she takes her racing really well. I don't think she's ground-dependent really. She obviously goes on fast ground, but she won on good ground earlier in the year so I wouldn't mind it if it were good or even good-to-soft–it wouldn't bother her at all.”

Clipper Logistics' Attagirl (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) scored by four lengths over this trip at Haydock July 2 and trainer Karl Burke said he is hopeful she can make an impact. “I think a lot of her,” he said. “She's a lovely filly and I'm looking forward to seeing her run–she seems in great shape. She was impressive and we think she can improve on that, so we're very much looking forward to it.” Imad Alsagar's Nazanin (Declaration of War) scored on her debut over this trip at Newbury June 22 and is another of the unexposed types looking to step up. In the seven-furlong Listed Pat Eddery S., Godolphin's New Science (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) bids to put a disappointing seventh placing in the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot June 19 behind him having beaten that race's runner-up Reach For the Moon (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) on debut at Yarmouth May 28. “He was disappointing, but it was very soft ground at Ascot last time,” Charlie Appleby said. “William [Buick] said he wasn't happy even going to post on the ground. We've put a line through it. His homework has been good since, I'm pleased with his preparation and if he can bounce back to his Yarmouth maiden form he's a major player.”

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High-Class Field Of Six Remain For Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes

The 2021 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes at Ascot looks set to provide a memorable battle of the generations as a high-class field of six is headlined by the star 4-year-old filly Love (Aidan O'Brien), who will take on this year's Derby winner Adayar (Charlie Appleby).

The Group 1 contest offers the winner an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf this fall at Del Mar.

A dual-Classic winner last year, Love returned to action this season by winning the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. She will be joined by her Group 1 winning stablemate Broome.

Wonderful Tonight (David Menuisier) is also declared for the race, having gotten the better of Broome when winning the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal Meeting in June.

Further intrigue is provided by Mishriff (John & Thady Gosden), who has recorded international success this year in Saudi Arabia and Dubai and steps up to a mile and a half in this country for the first time.

Completing the line-up is Lone Eagle (Martyn Meade), the other 3-year-old runner in the race who was second in the Irish Derby, form which has already been franked by the winner Hurricane Lane.

Ahead of the race, Adayar's trainer Charlie Appleby, said: “I'm delighted with his preparation; he looks a million dollars. It's going to be a fantastic race to watch hopefully and whoever wins it will be top of the mile and a half division.

“It looks at the moment as if it was a good Derby. It [winning the King George and the Derby] hasn't been done since Galileo so for Adayar to turn up here is a huge occasion for everybody.

“It's a challenge and now we're stepping up into the big boy division so it's going to be a fascinating race. We're looking forward to it and excited to see what Adayar does.”

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The Weekly Wrap: Happy and Glorious

On each day of Royal Ascot, there was at least one result truly to savour, if not more. Moreover, the meeting in its entirety felt at last like a return to some sort of normality. Even the British weather played its typically quirky part: boiling one day, rain of biblical proportions the next.

One regrettable absence was the buzz of the crowd. The maximum number of 12,000 attendees per day is of course low by usual standards. With the late announcement that even this number would be permitted, not to mention the complications surrounding Covid-testing, it is perhaps no surprise that there was not a capacity crowd, but those who opted not to go missed out on an extremely special occasion. 

One of the relatively few international visitors, Mariam Zerehi, the Californian part-owner of the G2 Queen Mary S. winner Quick Suzy (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}), perhaps summed it up best when she said, “We had Sharing last year in the Coronation Stakes and she placed second but none of us were able to be here to witness that so I am just happy to be here.

“This is a really big moment because we are in a very different place today than we were just a year ago. I think this Royal Ascot represents a lot of hope and optimism that we are all moving in the right direction, so that's special to be a part of–it's not just an ordinary Ascot for me.”

Indeed, ordinary it was not. For a start, Her Majesty the Queen did not make an appearance at her own racecourse until Saturday, but when she finally arrived–by car this time, rather than horse-drawn carriage–the reception she was given was properly rousing even with fewer people on course on normal. And after all, there can be no party without the host, especially one who has done more than most to ensure that Britain retains its reputation as the foremost racing nation, even though it is very much now a pauper compared to some of its ostentatiously rich neighbours.

Honours Even

There was a pleasingly egalitarian feel to the results of the week. The eight Group 1 contests went to eight different trainers, with John and Thady Gosden setting the tone in the first race of the meeting with a victory for the world's current top-rated horse, Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}). The Gosdens would end the week as leading trainers–the first time that accolade has gone to a partnership but surely not the last. Their four winners equalled the tally of Andrew Balding but the Gosdens secured the title on countback for placed horses.

Balding and the Kingsclere team can look back on the week with immense satisfaction, however. As well as the victory of Alcohol Free (No Nay Never) in the G1 Coronation S there were two juvenile group-race winners in Berkshire Shadow (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Sandrine (GB). The latter provided a first group success for her sire Bobby's Kitten and the first winner at the Royal Meeting for her owner/breeder Kirsten Rausing, who also stands the stallion and has nurtured Sandrine's family for five generations since her purchase of the filly's fourth dam Sushila (Ire) (Petingo {GB}) in 1976.

It was particularly enjoyable to see Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}) bounce back to form for Roger Teal, just as it was pleasing to see Sir Michael Stoute back in the winner's enclosure after a Group 1 race with the 7-year-old Dream Of Dreams (Ire) (Dream Ahead), who had been beaten a head in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. in the past two seasons.

Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) continued Wesley Ward's love affair with Royal Ascot, albeit only after a fairly lengthy stewards' enquiry following interference from first-past-the-post Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}). The eventual winner continued an excellent season for her breeder Tally-Ho Stud, which also bred the G2 Norfolk S. winner Perfect Power (Ire), as well as his first-season sire Ardad (Ire), who, like Campanelle, is by their resident stallion Kodiac.

Without doubt, however, breeder of the season at this stage–and it's hard to see him being beaten–is Jim Bolger. Poetic Flare (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) may have won the Guineas by a short-head and lost the Irish Guineas by a short-head to his stable-mate Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) either side of his comparatively lacklustre French Guineas attempt, but his victory in the St James's Palace S. was nothing short of emphatic.

It is still rather extraordinary to think that we first saw Poetic Flare in public when he won the first 2-year-old race of the season in Ireland in 2020. This was also the final meeting before Irish racing went behind closed doors, and that is where it has remained. Fortunately, this brilliant colt has been tested far and wide beyond his own shores by his trainer/breeder who had the sense to know when to back off last season when Poetic Flare went through a growing spell. After winning his maiden on Mar. 23 we didn't see him again until the G1 Dewhurst S on Oct. 10. At the time his reappearance may have seemed as if Bolger was tilting at windmills, and his tenth-place finish behind the winner St Mark's Basilica (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) that day initially appeared to back that up. But time has taught us never to underestimate his trainer. Poetic Flare went to his winter quarters on the back of a Group 3 victory at Leopardstown just a week after the Dewhurst and he has since developed into the pre-eminent colt of his generation ahead of St Mark's Basilica, who has only enhanced his own reputation by taking both colts' Classics in France.

Lots To Love

The long-awaited comeback of last year's sensational 1000 Guineas and Oaks winner Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) proved to be one of the highlights of Royal Ascot and, despite the defection of Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the G1 Prince of Wales's S. turned into a battle royal between Coolmore's golden girl and the returning GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}).

While Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) couldn't claw back the sweeping surge of Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) when taking second in the G2 Hardwicke S., his full-brother Point Lonsdale (Ire) backed up his impressive Curragh debut to give Aidan O'Brien a sixth win in the Chesham S. The trainer was polite enough to apologise in the post-race debrief for beating the Queen's Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) by half a length, but the 95-year-old monarch almost certainly knows by now how to take racing's rough with the smooth and will surely have been pleased with a second and a third from her runners on the day she attended the meeting. 

The previous evening at Newmarket, her homebred Wink Of An Eye (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) had won his second race in eight days, with William Haggas having increased his chances of becoming racing's next knight by saddling the 3-year-old to win his first race on what would have been the late Duke of Edinburgh's 100th birthday.

Pure Gold

The Queen had not been in attendance to present the Gold Cup on Thursday, as is her usual custom, but the great staying race nevertheless provided one of the best moments of the week.

Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was odds-on to win the race for a fourth time and to set a new record for five consecutive wins at the meeting, but instead we witnessed the coronation of a new staying king, Dr Jim Walker's Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}).

Gratifyingly, it was a race that had everything: the reigning champion, the up-and-coming star, last year's Derby, Irish Derby and Melbourne Cup winners, and the remarkable Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}). The latter's jockey Joey Sheridan must be congratulated for riding an astutely tactical race, keeping the master tactician Frankie Dettori firmly in an unenviable position, and bringing the mare home in second. But it was Subjectivist's day, and it will be staggering if his dam Reckoning (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) is not Broodmare of the Year in Britain in 2021. 

Third to Hukum (GB) in last year's King George V S., Subjectivist then won the listed Glasgow S. and the G3 March S. by a whopping 15 lengths before landing his first Group 1 in the Prix Royal Oak at Longchamp last October. A warm up in the desert in March in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup proved to be the perfect, if lengthy, lead in to his Gold Cup success. 

Since his victory at Meydan, his half-brother Sir Ron Priestley (GB) (Australia {GB}) returned from a 571-day absence to win first the listed Further Flight S. and then the G2 Jockey Club S., beating Pyledriver (GB) at Newmarket on Guineas weekend. 

The brothers are both with Mark Johnston, as is their stakes-placed half-sister Alba Rose (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) and the mare's 2-year-old, a full-sister to Sir Ron Priestley who was retained by her breeder Susan Hearn of Mascalls Stud.

This may have been a fourth Gold Cup victory for Johnston, following Double Trigger (GB) in 1995 and Royal Rebel (GB) in 2001 and 2002, but it was no less enjoyed by the team at Kingsley House Stables, especially the trainer's wife Deirdre, who still had tears in her eyes 48 hours later when recalling the round of applause given to Subjectivist as he appeared in the yard the following morning.

“It just meant so much to the whole team at home,” she said.

It was a memorable week for Deirdre Johnston as she is also the co-owner of the hugely promising eventer JL Dublin, who won the CCI4* at Bicton International Horse Trials with rider Nicola Wilson the previous weekend.

All The Young Dudes

Age is merely a number, as they say, but there was a youthful feel to plenty of the winning trainers and jockeys at Royal Ascot. Among those scoring a first-time success was the 40-year-old David Menuisier, whose Wonderful Tonight posted one of the most visually impressive performances of the week on her favoured soft ground and will surely be a force to be reckoned with again this autumn.

Gavin Cromwell is perhaps not the youngest of bucks but he is incredibly versatile and increasingly prominent as a trainer. In the last three months he has saddled the winner of the G1 Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and now the smart juvenile Quick Suzy, who is arguably his standout Flat performer in a stable in which the jumpers outnumber the Flat horses three to one.

The filly, who became the first group winner for her first-season sire Profitable, also provided a Royal Ascot first for Gary Carroll. The Irish rider was joined in this regard by Cieren Fallon, Ben Coen, Hector Crouch and Clifford Lee, as well as Marco Ghiani and Laura Pearson, two of the most impressive apprentices riding at present in Britain. 

The last tip of the top hat should go to Dave Evans, who is not young but is certainly a dude and arguably hugely underrated as a trainer. Rohaan (Ire), one of two Royal Ascot winners for the similarly underrated Cheveley Park Stud stallion Mayson (GB), was picked up by Evans at last year's Horses-in-Training Sale for 20,000gns having made two underwhelming starts as a 2-year-old. Awarded a rating of 55 after his first run for his new stable, he has progressed through the ranks, winning seven times since last December, including the G2 Sandy Lane S. and the Wokingham S. 

The fact that he was gelded before he made his debut precluded Rohaan from running in the G1 Commonwealth Cup, but it will not stop him from attempting to emulate his sire in the G1 Darley July Cup on July 10. From 55-rated handicapper to Group 1 winner in the space of eight months would be quite something, and Evans would surely be vying with his son-in-law Adam Kirby for having provided the feelgood racing story of the season.

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Menuisier Celebrates First Royal Ascot Win With Wonderful Tonight

Wonderful Tonight gave trainer David Menuisier a first Royal Ascot success when beating the boys in the G2 Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half.

The four-year-old filly was making her seasonal debut after winning the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot on her final start in 2020.

Racing keenly early on, jockey William Buick eventually got Wonderful Tonight (5/1) settled behind the leaders before kicking clear in the straight for an impressive length and a half success over 9/4 favorite Broome. Hukum (8/1) was the same distance again back in third.

Menuisier said: “Wonderful Tonight is an absolute champion. I couldn't be bullish in the press before the race because she was always going to improve for the run.

“She was running against tough opposition with the benefit of at least one run, so you always have to be on the side of caution, but she is amazing. I didn't know what to say in the last 50 yards, it gave me a great sense of pride.

“Wonderful Tonight showed a tremendous turn of foot which she perhaps never showed before. I am very proud of the team, proud of the filly and also proud it is the only day Her Majesty came to this week, so I'm pleased she got to see this filly live.

“The fact that she handles soft/heavy ground so well compensated for the lack of fitness today. Can I go as far to say she will show the same traits on good ground? I don't know. Perhaps we will try in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe if the ground happened to be good. Would we try her on good ground before that? I don't know. She loves Longchamp and Ascot so we will keep an eye on all the races she can run it at both venues.

“The King George was run on very soft ground last year. The Hardwicke was not the plan until last week and at the confirmation stage I saw that there was rain forecast and we decided to keep her in. Sometimes you need to be lucky as well!

Speaking about what a first Royal Ascot win means, he added: “It means the world because you carry it like a monkey on your back until it happens. I am absolutely thrilled.”

Winning owner Christopher Wright said: “I couldn't believe it. I honestly couldn't believe it, I was breathless. Absolutely staggered. I knew she needed the race. What a filly. She is amazing.

“I wasn't expecting her to win, the trainer had managed my expectations and he had also managed the expectations of the entire punting public in the Racing Post by saying that she was at 80/85 percent fit. Maybe she was, I don't know, but didn't she win so well! What a filly she is, that was unbelievable.

“I have been running horses here for 40 years, almost every year at least one, sometimes several. I've never ever had a winner at Royal Ascot – lots of seconds, lots of very good horses. Culture Vulture, who won a Classic, was second twice, but I've never had a winner here. I almost can't believe it – I thought I never ever would have a winner here, but I have.

“It means everything, actually. There are winners and winners, but a Royal Ascot winner… I've won a lot of very good races, but to win at Royal Ascot is like I've died and gone to heaven.

“After last year, when we almost ran Wonderful Tonight in the Arc, we thought that we would target the Arc this year. I know that's like shooting for the moon, and it's a pretty tough target to aspire to, but that has been the target and her program has been based around it, so we didn't want her to start the season too early. We don't think she's a filly who will like a mid-season break particularly, so we wanted to start the season and gradually bring her along so she could peak on the first weekend of October. This was step one of that plan.”

Buick is still in the hunt for the Royal Ascot leading jockey title after riding his third winner of the week. He said: “Wonderful Tonight has a lot of stamina. I won the Fillies & Mares on her on Champions Day last year and I rode her like a real stayer because she'd won the Royallieu, the 14-furlong fillies race on Arc weekend, making plenty of use of her.

“She is top-class. She probably does handle this ground well compared to some others, but I thought that performance today against the colts was her best yet. And she showed a turn of foot today that I don't think she'd shown before. I thought she looked great – David and his team had done a great job with her over the winter and have bided their time.

“She is very versatile tactically. She can make her own running as long as she's in a good rhythm and doesn't get chased along too early. She was entitled to be a bit fresh today, first run for a while, but I was very comfortable where I was after a furlong or so. It was a nice smooth race; good performance from her and she's got it all ahead.”

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