Nashwa is set to throw her hat into the ring for next weekend’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes following a pleasing workout in Newmarket on Saturday morning.
Having secured her third Group One victory with a dominant performance in the Falmouth at Newmarket in mid-July, John and Thady Gosden’s filly has since finished third in the Nassau at Goodwood and second in the Juddmonte International at York.
She now looks set to take on the boys once more at Leopardstown, with dual Derby hero Auguste Rodin and King Edward VII Stakes winner and King George third King Of Steel among her potential rivals.
Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Nashwa’s owner Imad Al Sagar, said: “We are positive, she did a nice little bit with Hollie solo on the Limekilns yesterday morning and everyone’s very happy.
“It seems the right spot to go for. She’s come out of York very well and Imad’s excited about going to Leopardstown next weekend.
“She’s in great shape and we’re looking forward to it.”
The Saint Lucia Kings reclaimed top spot in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a dominant 90-run victory over the Barbados Royals at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
The Royals won the toss and opted to field first, but they were to run into Johnson Charles in imperious form. The opener blasted 78 and contributions at the back end saw the Kings post a healthy 195-6.
In reply, the Royals chase was over before it began as they lost the top five batters inside the PowerPlay. They never recovered from that huge setback and were eventually all out for 105.
Scores: St Lucia Kings 195-6 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 105 all out (17.3 overs)
The Kings got their innings off to a tremendous start led by the power of Johnson Charles.
Having reached 69/0 at the end of the PowerPlay the foundation was set for a huge total, and they were able to reach 97 before the loss of their first wicket, Colin Munro holing out to the deep square boundary for 33.
Sean Williams stay at the crease was a brief one but at the other end Charles continued to make hay. Only when Jason Holder returned in the 16th over did the Kings momentum get momentarily halted. Two wickets in the over saw the departure of Shadrack Descarte and Charles himself for 78.
However, quick-fire contributions at the death from Roshon Primus, Sikander Raza and Roston Chase ensured the Kings set an imposing total.
The Royals never got to grips with the chase and were effectively out of the contest by the end of the PowerPlay.
Alzarri Joseph, Matthew Forde and Roshon Primus were destroyers in chief as they ran through the top five batters to leave the Royals 40/5 at the end of the first six overs.
Despite a few big hits from the lower middle order the Royals suffered without a firm base to build from and eventually folded for 105 all out.
The victory for the Kings sent them back to the top of the table, while Barbados Royals will look to bounce back against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the last game of their home leg on Sunday at 6:00pm Jamaica time. Prior to that, Jamaica Tallawahs will battle Trinbago Knight Riders at 8:00am, while Barbados Royals women will lock horns with Guyana Amazon Warriors women at 1:30pm.
Outsider Essential Quality burst the bubbles of her more favoured rivals, as she turned the third running of the Winston “Fanna” Griffiths Classic into a procession at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
Another levelheaded ride by jockey Raddesh Roman saw the Oral Hayden-owned and trained chestnut filly, proving the class of the three-year-old Graded Stakes contest in a gate-to-wire performance over 9-1/2 furlongs (1,900m) at long odds of 30-1.
With not much pace present in the race, the indication was that Fitzroy Glispie’s overwhelming 4-5 favourite Money Miser (Shamaree Muir) or stablemate Princess Sharon (Paul Francis) would have dictated terms on the headline, but the connections of Essential Quality had other ideas.
From the one draw in the nine-horse field, the Sensational Slam-Texas Missy progeny, was sent straight to the lead by Roman, with Princess Sharon and Burlap (Javaniel Patterson) in tow, as the flashed past the clubhouse turn and hit the backstretch.
At that point Money Miser, though more than five lengths behind, seemed fairly comfortable and poised to make a late strike when the leaders falter.
But that was not to be as Roman and Essential Quality quickened past the five-furlong mark and later opened up a gap on Burlap, who tried but failed to apply pressure on the leader leaving the half-mile.
From there, it was Essential Quality against the clock as the filly barely look winded when she straightened in the homestretch and even found when asked by Roman, who later eased up and stood tall in the saddle for the rest of the way.
She completed the distance in 2:03.0, after splits of 25.1, 49.4, 1:14.2 and 1:40.1.
Princess Sharon stayed on for second nine lengths behind, while Richie Rich (Reyan Lewis) and Money Miser (Shamaree Muir), both inevitably hit top stride but were a long way off the winner in third and fourth respectively.
The Ham Stables-bred Essential Quality in landing the lion’s share of the $3.75 million purse, registered her third career win in eight starts.
Meanwhile, trainer Peter-John Parsard and jockeys Tevin Foster, Phillip Parchment, and Reyan Lewis each had two winners on the 10-race card.
Parsard saddled Sunshine Cat (Oneil Mullings) in the seventh race and Rojorn Di Pilot (Omar Walker) in the 10th event.
Foster’s winners were the Michael Marlowe-conditioned Jack of Spades in the second race and Anthony Nunes’s Captain Calico in the fifth. Parchment won aboard Steven Todd’s Magical Mood in the third race and Traditional Boy for trainer Gordon Lewis in the sixth.
Lewis won the fourth race aboard Sensational Satin for trainer Byron Davis, and the eighth with Jason DaCosta’s Lion of Ekati.
Barbados Royals made light work of chasing 74 to stay unbeaten from their opening round of fixtures in the Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
After chasing a record 167 two days ago in their opener, Hayley Matthews’ side made the most of their chances against the Trinbago Knight Riders.
The visitors were without their captain and most experienced international Deandra Dottin and exciting new overseas Orla Prendergast for their opening match of their WCPL defence.
Trinbago Knight Riders never got going with the bat despite winning the toss and opting to bat first, with only one player reaching double figures as the side capitulated to 73 all out.
The Royals didn’t hang around in their pursuit of the total knocking off 74 for four wickets inside 11 overs after an explosive powerplay started the chase strongly.
The Knight Riders reached 32-1 from their steady PowerPlay. Kycia Knight made a good start as she scored at just shy of a run a ball in the first six overs, however when she was dismissed by Erin Burns, the visitors fell from 36-2 to 73 all out.
Spin dominated for Matthews’ side as it had in their first match on Thursday, taking eight wickets for 54 runs, bowling 12.4 of the 16.4 bowled overs. Australian pairing Erin Burns and Amanda-Jade Wellington were the stars with 3/19 and 2/13, respectively.
The Royals in response got off to a fast start in the powerplay, the captain leading off with a quickfire 19, supported by Gaby Lewis on the back of a score of 47, reached a run-a-ball 27, the hosts surpassing 50 inside the PowerPlay.
Matthews’ side endured a setback as they three wickets for 11 runs between overs five to nine with Knight Riders’ spinners enjoying some consolation wicket taking, although it wasn’t enough to affect the result.
Barbados Royals are back in action for a third-consecutive match tomorrow, as they face Guyana Amazon Warriors in a repeat of the 2023 WCPL opener.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors are now at the top of the Caribbean Premier League points table after a dominant 98-run win over the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.
The Amazon Warriors first posted 186-6 from their 20 overs after the Patriots won the toss and chose to field first.
All-rounder Keemo Paul followed up his 56 in their last game with an unbeaten 41 off 31 balls including one four and three sixes.
Shimron Hetmyer (36), Dwayne Pretorius (27) and Romario Shepherd with a rapid seven-ball 26 provided excellent contributions to the Amazon Warriors total.
Oshane Thomas continued his return to form this season with 3-26 from three overs.
The Patriots, who are now winless after seven games, could then muster only 88 off 17.1 overs in another awful batting performance.
Corbin Bosch scored the bulk of the runs with a run-a-ball 27.
Dwayne Pretorius was the star with the ball with 3-17 from three overs while West Indies left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie took 2-15 from four overs.
The Amazon Warriors are now top of the table with seven points from four games.
Guyana Amazon Warriors moved to the top of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comfortable 98-run victory over the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first and that initially appeared to be an inspired decision when the Warriors were restricted to 55-4 inside the first seven overs. But excellent batting at the backend by Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd, in particular, powered the Warriors to an imposing 186-6
In reply, the Patriots wobbled from the start and were never able to recover, much less to get close to the victorious total, as they were bowled out for a paltry 88.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 186-6 (20 overs); St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 88 all out (17.1 overs)
The Amazon Warriors initially had a good start to the Powerplay, racing to 32 inside the first three overs, before Oshane Thomas struck twice in the fourth over to restore some semblance of parity to the game. brought the Patriots into the game.
He had Saim Ayub (21) caught on the boundary and Hazratullah Zazai (seven) caught by wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher.
Two wickets became four when George Linde dismissed Azam Khan (six) and Thomas returned to pick up Shai Hope's scalp for 13, to leave the Amazon Warriors in trouble at 55-4.
However, the Guyanese pair of Shimron Hetmyer and Paul put on a 57-run partnership to rebuild the innings, before Dominic Drakes dismissed Hetmyer for a well-played 22-ball 36, which included three sixes and one four.
Dwaine Pretorius and Paul combined to put together another 48 from 31 balls to ensure the Warriors entered the backend of the innings with significant momentum. The former eventually fell for 27, but Shepherd came and slammed three sixes and a four in a seven-ball cameo of 27 to leave the Patriots an imposing 187 for victory.
Paul ended unbeaten on 41 off 31 balls, his innings also had three sixes and a four.
Thomas was the pick of the Patriots bowlers with three for 26 from three overs.
The Patriots would have backed themselves to get to their target, but some poor shot selection made the task even more difficult than it was before. They lost Andre Fletcher (11), Evin Lewis (seven), Will Smeed (two) and Sherfane Rutherford (two), inside the PowerPlay and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.
Chris Bosch with a run-a-ball 27 was the only batsman to offer any real resistance, against Pretorius's three for 17 and Gudakesh Motie's two for 15, as the Warriors romped to a third-straight win and remain the only unbeaten team in the league.
Veteran Soca Warriors midfielder, Kevin Molino, announced his retirement from the Trinidad & Tobago national team in a social media post on Friday.
The 33-year-old Molino, who currently plays for MLS outfit Columbus Crew, is the joint-second highest goal scorer with 23 goals in 59 appearances.
Molino reflected on the various stages of international football he played with the Soca Warriors.
“It has always been about passion and pride- from my first days with the U15 team, to being a part of a special group in the U17 World Cup & U20 World Cup,” said Molino in the social media post.
“Along the way, I’ve been able to make lifelong friends, face fierce rivals and lead the nation as captain of the senior team. Now, that dream has come to an end. It’s time to say goodbye for now. Thank you to all those who have supported me through the highs and lows-my family, teammates, fans and coaches across T&T. I cherish every moment, every memory and they will all live with me forever,” he added.
Molino, who has battled several injuries during the course of his career, captained the Soca Warriors at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. Molino started the first fixture vs St Kitts and Nevis as TT got their lone win in the group stage. He then featured from off the bench in a 4-1 defeat against Jamaica, before returning to the starting lineup for TT's 6-0 defeat to the United States.
Heredia finished with a flourish to land the Virgin Bet Atalanta Stakes at Sandown.
Richard Hannon’s charge was a convincing Listed winner at Haydock last time out and was duly sent off the 5-2 favourite to add to her tally in this Group Three affair.
Settled towards the back of the field as Roman Mist cut out the early running, Heredia was clearly travelling well coming into the straight and when Sean Levey gave the signal, she made rapid strides down the middle of the track.
Heredia seized the advantage inside the final furlong and while Queen For You tried to match her, the winner proved three-quarters of a length too good at the line. Last year’s race winner was a further length and a quarter back in third.
Brave Sussex Stakes runner-up Facteur Cheval will be seeking big-race compensation on home soil in the Prix du Moulin at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.
Jerome Reynier’s ultra-consistent performer is yet to finish outside the first three in four outings this term, beaten less than two lengths on each occasion.
He finished a valiant second to Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, with the four-year-old beaten a length and a half after a less than ideal passage/
Now connections are hoping that mammoth effort on the Sussex Downs has not left a mark as they go in search of an elusive Group One triumph in a race that that also includes Prix du Jockey Club and Jacques le Marois runner-up Big Rock.
“We’re looking forward to it but I’m a little bit nervous because he had a very hard race last time, plus he had a trip,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor, who own the horse in partnership with Gary Barber.
“Even though it’s back in four and a half weeks which sounds like a reasonable amount of time, in the back of my mind I’m hoping he doesn’t react to that last race, it certainly knocked out Paddington.
“He is facing a pretty darn good horse in Big Rock. We have a very big, strong horse and Mickael Barzalona is going to get on him this time. We are hopeful for a good race because Big Rock likes to go off in front and we need to have a target. The races where he hasn’t ran quite up to scratch this year are when he got too far behind in a paceless race.”
A bold showing for Facteur Cheval in Paris this weekend could tee up a potential Qipco British Champions Day rematch with his Goodwood conqueror Paddington in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot later in the autumn.
Irwin added: “I’m planning on coming over for the Queen Elizabeth and I see Paddington might run in that one as well, so that would be a hell of a contest.
“Both horses love it soft to heavy and at that time of year you might get a racetrack like that. That will be a good contest and the layout of that straight course at Ascot, going uphill, favours a miler that has got stamina and can go at least another furlong, which we have proved that we can do and it could be a pretty exciting contest.”
Remarkably, Christopher Head’s Big Rock is also seeking his first top-level success and is another to bring some high-class form to the table.
He finished second when sent off favourite for his last two big-race assignments and with connections persevering with the one-mile distance, they will hope to see the Rock Of Gibraltar colt regain a winning thread which saw him string together four impressive victories earlier in the campaign.
Jean-Claude Rouget’s Erevann is without a victory since winning last year’s Prix Daniel Wildenstein, but is a proven Group-level performer and will have the chance to emulate his dam Ervedya who struck gold in this for connections in 2015.
Patrice Cottier’s Sauterne has placed in both the Prix Jean Prat and Prix Rothschild recently following defeat at the hands of Kelina in Chantilly’s Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly prior to that.
Both are well worth their place in the field, with the latter having the chance to add to trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias’ 2018 triumph in the contest.
Andre Fabre is also no stranger to success in this event and will saddle Group One-winning juvenile Belbek, while Yann Barberot’s hat-trick-seeking Fast Raaj and Fabrice Chappet’s Topgear complete the line-up.
Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says his team will not only draw inspiration from senior Reggae Girlz Fifa Women’s World Cup exploits, but more importantly, build on the positives from their own Gold Cup campaign to achieve future success.
Hallgrimsson’s sentiments came as he named a 23-player squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League tournament, where they will be hunting qualification for next year’s 48th edition of the prestigious Copa America to be staged in the United States.
The Boyz, who will contest League A of the Nations League, are grouped with Suriname, Haiti, Honduras, Cuba and Grenada.
They are scheduled to open their account on home soil against Honduras on September 8, before tackling Caribbean rivals Haiti, four days later. Both games are scheduled for the National Stadium.
Following those games, Hallgrimsson’s side will play away to Grenada on October 12, before visiting Haiti on October 15.
To get to the Copa America, the Jamaicans are required to finish in the top six, as such, they will need to secure one of two spots from their group to progress to quarter-finals.
Should they do so and go on to win their quarter-finals fixture, the Boyz would automatically secure berth to Copa America, however, if not, then they would take the playoff route for a second shot at qualification.
With that in mind, Hallgrimsson, alluded to the Reggae Girlz, who became the first male or female team from the Caribbean to contest the knockout rounds at a World Cup since Cuba’s feat in 1938.
On the way to that accomplishment, the Girlz held top-ranked France and Brazil to goalless stalemates and also secured a first ever World Cup win with a 1-0 scoreline over Panama.
“A lot of positivity surrounds Jamaica’s football at the moment, the Girlz performance should give us energy for our games and we should try to use that to our benefit to go forward. But before I go forward, I want to look back at the Gold Cup, we were very satisfied with that tournament and we got even more positivity from analyzing those games,” Hallgrimsson said during a press conference on Friday.
“We feel that we are getting stronger as a unit and as a team. We had some good performances from players, some were new faces at the tournament with very little preparation period prior and we know those players will grow into the team and play an even bigger role than they did in the Gold Cup. So lot of positives, if we talk tactically, we know we can improve in areas like our attacking game, as well how we possess the ball,” he added.
On that note, Hallgrimsson only made four changes from that Gold Cup squad with Jonathan Russell, Kaheem Parris, Javain Brown and Kemar Lawrence being replaced by Tayvon Gray, Kasey Palmer, Greg Leigh and former Arnett Gardens standout Renaldo Cephas.
The American-born Gray, 21, who currently represents New York City FC, won the MLS Cup in 2021 and Campeones Cup in 2022. The right-back also represented the United States in multiple games at the youth level.
Aware that Jamaica contested the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, the Icelandic coach is hoping to also achieve the feat during his tenure, as he believes playing at that level will be integral to their preparations for a shot at making the 2026 World Cup.
“As I said we were very pleased with the Gold Cup so there are not much new faces for this camp. Time spent together is hugely important to us, so again qualifying for the Copa America will help us even more in preparation for the World Cup,” Hallgrimsson declared.
“Firstly, we want to win and be number one in Nations League. That is one thing, it is just an extra spice that doing well in this competition will give us a chance to play in the Copa America, an even bigger competition than the Gold Cup.
“In the process of growing as a unit, it is really important that we qualify for competitions like this to keep the growth going. So, we are just preparing ourselves playing in big tournaments like this,” he reasoned.
Moving up the Fifa rankings is another component of added significance for Hallgrimsson, who again made note of the Reggae Girlz rise from 43rd to 37th, as well as his team’s own move from 66th to 58th.
“Fifa ranking means a lot in national team football today. For example, in the Nations League the top four ranked teams United States, Canada, Mexico and Panama, don’t need to play in the group stage, they automatically qualify for the quarter-finals and that is a huge benefit for them.
“So we want to be in that position to not need to play a whole group stage to be able to play for top four. We want to be top four in the ranking and I would say if we get to 40, it would be a huge success for us,” Hallgrimsson noted.
Squad: Goalkeepers –Andre Blake, Jahmali Waite, Conniah Boyce-Clarke
Defenders –Damion Lowe, Tayvon Gray, Ethan Pinnock, Amari’i Bell, Di’Shon Bernard, Dexter Lembikisa, Adrian Mariappa, Greg Leigh
Midfielders –Kasey Palmer, Joel Latibeaudiere, Daniel Johnson, Kevon Lambert, Bobby Reid
Forwards –Leon Bailey, Michail Antonio, Demarai Gray, Dejuan Richards, Cory Burke, Shamar Nicholson, Renaldo Cephas
2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor long jump champion Carey McLeod has signed a professional contract with German apparel giants Adidas.
The 25-year-old specializes in the long jump but has also competed in the triple jump.
McLeod has personal bests of 8.34m in the long jump and 16.40m in the triple jump. Both those performances came in 2021.
Indoors, McLeod jumped a national record-equaling 8.40m on March 10 this year to win the NCAA Indoor title. That jump put McLeod in a tie with James Beckford for 20th all-time indoors.
Last week, McLeod narrowly missed out on a medal in the long jump at the World Championships in Budapest.
The Arkansas man had a best jump of 8.27m, the same distance as countryman Tajay Gayle, but was beaten to the bronze medal on countback.
His professional debut came at Thursday’s Zurich Diamond League meet where he jumped 7.60m for ninth.
The Frankie Dettori farewell tour will hit Budapest on Saturday where the Italian will take centre stage on one of the biggest days in the Hungarian racing calendar.
Dettori will have six rides on the nine-race card but will be linking up with some familiar faces at the capital’s Kincsem Park as officials prepare to welcome British-trained raiders for the first time.
All four horses making the journey from the UK are owned by Fitri Hay and her husband Jim, whose connection with Hungarian minister of defence Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky – also a key figure on the Hungarian horse racing scene – has led to this somewhat unexpected leg of Dettori’s international swansong.
The 52-year-old is set to partner Ian Williams’ Silent Film in a local Group Two contest before getting the leg-up aboard Paul and Oliver Cole’s Splendent in the feature Kincsem Stakes, a race which carries local Group One status.
Andrew Balding’s Sceptic and David Simcock’s Tides Of War are the other Hay-owned runners in action and their racing manager Alex Cole is hoping he has selected the correct squad for a fruitful venture to eastern Europe.
He said: “It’s very difficult to gauge the level for which they race, but I hope I’ve picked the right ones out of the stable rated around the 90s mark to be highly competitive.
“Horses can make days or ruin days, but fingers crossed.
“We’re all here now, Jim and Fitri are here, Frankie is here and the trainers are here. It all revolves around the Hays’ business interests, which ties in with the minister of defence who is also in charge of horse racing in Hungary.”
Dettori is no stranger to winning major contests around the world but a win in Bratislava in the Slovakian Derby is the closest the well-known racing figure has come to stepping foot on Hungarian turf, with officials hoping the Italian’s visit will provide a shot in the arm for racing in the country.
They also hope the ‘Dettori factor’ will see a bumper crowd in attendance for the feature of their Autumn International Meeting, which also sees greyhound racing and trotting take place at Budapest’s Kincsem Park.
“There are four major stakes races and Dr and Mrs Hay have four horses running, two in the mile race and two in the mile and a half,” said Botond Kovacs, international liaisons officer at Kincsem Park.
“It is the first time we are hosting English-trained horses here in Budapest and we are absolutely thrilled and over the moon, especially that Frankie Dettori is here. It is a huge privilege to have both Frankie and the Hays. It is his last season and he was gracious enough to accept our invitation.
“Frankie has arrived and he says our racecourse is 10 out of 10 and hopefully we will get a good crowd, we are hoping for a number around 6,000 to 7,000, perhaps more.
“The meeting is part of a horse and greyhound festival and the Autumn International Meeting is the highlight of the year, with obviously the Kincsem Stakes the feature race of the day with 55,000 euros in the pot up for grabs.
“We are very hopeful that this meeting can put Hungarian racing back on the map of racing in Europe.”
Jewel Andrew and Adrian Weir both hit half-centuries but they weren’t enough as the West Indies Under-19s came up short by 51 runs in the series-deciding third ODI against Sri Lanka Under-19s at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Friday.
Weir hit a 41-ball 52 at the top of the innings including seven fours and two sixes while Andrew, a wicket-keeper/batsman, made a top score of 80 from just 64 balls including eight fours and two four sixes.
Joshua Dorne also hit 32 as the tourists were restricted to 253 all out in 40.3 overs, 51 runs short of their target.
Vishwa Lahiru starred with 3-48 from 8.3 overs for Sri Lanka while Sineth Jayawardene (2-29 from three), Vihas Thewmika (2-29 from four) and Garuka Sanketh (2-44 from nine) all provided support.
Earlier, Sri Lanka made 304-8 off their 50 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
Opener Pulindu Perera starred with a mammoth 155 off 140 balls including 17 fours and four sixes.
Nathan Edward took 3-66 from nine overs for the West Indies while Deshawn James (2-70 from 10) and Tarrique Edward (2-41 from 10) provided good support.
The teams will now turn their attention to a pair of youth Tests with the first beginning on Monday.
Heredia will be out to uphold family honour in Sandown’s Virgin Bet Atalanta Stakes on Saturday.
It is eight seasons since the four-year-old’s dam Nakuti secured the Group Three prize and Heredia arrives at the Esher venue in peak condition following an impressive Listed success in the Dick Hern at Haydock three weeks ago.
Richard Hannon’s daughter of Dark Angel thrived for the return to a mile on that occasion, surging to a three-and-three-quarter-length victory over William Haggas’ reopposing Purplepay and the 2022 Royal Ascot scorer will seek further glory at the distance.
“She’s a homebred filly of Andrew’s (Stone, owner) and she gave us a tremendous day out at Ascot last year when she won the Sandringham,” said Richard Brown, racing manager for owners St Albans Bloodstock.
“Then we’ve sort of played around with the trip a little bit, probably fairly unsuccessfully, so we’ve gone back to a mile.
“She did it nicely at Haydock in the Dick Hern and she was off to America after Haydock. She’s got herself a reprieve and we’ll have a go in the Group Three and see where we are after that.”
Heredia disappointed on her only previous visit to Sandown when sent off the odds-on favourite for last year’s Coral Distaff.
However, connections are confident of correcting the record in a race that was the obvious fit for the ultra-consistent performer.
“Her only real bad run was our fault and not hers when we ran her back too quickly after the Sandringham last year,” continued Brown.
“We’ve slightly spaced her races a bit more since. We’re probably a bit quicker back again this time, but she’s a four-year-old and it’s a bit different – and this was really the most obvious race for her.
“Interestingly, her mother won it so hopefully she can go and follow in her footsteps.”
Potapova was a ready winner of this contest 12 months ago and Sir Michael Stoute’s five-year-old returns to defend her crown in a race the Freemason Lodge handler has won four times in the last 11 years.
She has not been seen since not being disgraced at Royal Ascot as the wet summer has somewhat curtailed her campaign and connections will again be keeping a close eye on the weather.
“Sir Michael is very happy with her. On her day, she is great and Ryan Moore rides and she likes Sandown, so we just need a little luck with the weather,” said Chris Richardson, managing director of owners Cheveley Park Stud.
“I’m a little bit nervous about the forecast and there’s a chance that if the forecast rain comes we might have to review things I suppose.
“Goodwood (earlier in the season) was a bit of a disaster when it was heavy and she pulled up so we know that is not going to suit her and if we get this rain forecast we won’t want to risk her again.
“But she’s an exciting filly with plenty of ability.”
Potapova denied John and Thady Gosden’s Grande Dame in this last year and Clarehaven are well represented once again with Sandringham scorer Coppice and the talented Queen For You.
Both have appeared in Group One contests this year, with the Juddmonte-owned Coppice a respectable fifth in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket last month.
“It looks a nice race for her and she’s had a little freshen up since her last race at Newmarket,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“I thought she ran a nice race in the Falmouth, she got stuck out on the wing and that heavy shower just before racing probably just took the ground away from her a little bit. But I thought she ran a great race and Tom (Marquand) gave her a good ride and was very complimentary about her after.”
Connections had hoped Coppice would be a 1000 Guineas candidate earlier in the season and despite tasting success at Royal Ascot, she is remarkably still searching for her first piece of black type.
Mahon added: “We think this is a good opportunity and having started out the year with some big aspirations it would be nice to get some black type with her. We haven’t got any yet so it would be good to get some.
“We know she handles a mile and she won very well at Ascot and we know she likes fast ground so hopefully that will stay right. She appears in good form and both John and Thady are happy with her work at home so it looks a nice opportunity.
“It’s a competitive race and they are a good bunch of fillies in the line-up but we’re hopeful she can get the job done.”
Archie Watson’s Roman Mist enjoys cut in the ground and was back to near her best when beaten a neck in the Valiant Stakes in her most recent outing, while Richard Fahey’s Midnight Mile has been a model of consistency for her Malton-based handler and now drops back to a mile with options limited over 10 furlongs.
Fahey said: “She’s in good form. She does seem to travel well in her races so it is worth giving it a go and she did win a Group Three over seven furlongs.
“There’s not many options for her at the moment over a mile and a quarter. She’s been running OK all year and is in great form so fingers crossed.”
Ismail Mohammed’s Nibras Angel is unbeaten in two starts but this is without a doubt her toughest task to date, while Gary Moore’s Goodwood victor Novus and David Menuisier’s Mysterious Love complete the 10-strong field.
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