Queen For You created a deep impression when scoring on debut at Ascot but now faces a real fight to wear the crown at York on Friday, as a stellar cast has assembled for the Oaks Farm Stables Fillies’ Stakes.
John and Thady Gosden’s daughter of Kingman is out of Fallen For You – a Coronation Stakes winner for the Clarehaven yard – and is a half-sister to six-time Group winner Glorious Journey, so is clearly bred to be a smart operator.
The manner of her two-length success, in what appeared a decent maiden, suggests she is on track to become an above-average filly herself.
She is pitched into Listed company for just her second start, a path taken by her training team in the past, including last year when they saddled the runner-up Grande Dame.
Thady Gosden said: “She won nicely first time out at Ascot and was a little green, which she was entitled to be
“She seems to have come forward for the run and although it is a big jump up into Listed company, we’d be hopeful. It is a much more competitive race and a step up in class, but we hope she will do herself justice.”
Equally impressive in her first start was Charlie Appleby’s Silver Lady, who romped the best part of four lengths clear of the opposition at Newmarket last month.
The form of that race was given a timely boost when the third scored at Beverley earlier this week and the daughter of Sea The Stars, who is out of Group One winner Lumiere, looks packed with potential ahead of this contest, better known as the Michael Seely Memorial Fillies’ Stakes.
Appleby said: “Silver Lady was impressive on her debut at Newmarket and came out of the race well.
“We feel that this is the right next step to test her credentials ahead of the summer.”
Sir Michael Stoute won this 10 years ago with Pavlosk, and looks to repeat the dose with Stormy Sea, who built on an encouraging Kempton bow at two when returning to the track at Haydock recently.
A half-sister to the Freemason Lodge handler’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge, she surged over four lengths clear in her first try over a mile at the Lancashire track and now Ryan Moore takes over in the saddle.
“I haven’t ridden her on the track but she clearly did it very well on her return at Haydock and I’d expect this half-sister to Bay Bridge to be featuring here,” the jockey told Betfair.
“That said, it is clearly a very competitive race full of similarly unexposed fillies of potential, so I imagine a few will be fancying their chances.”
Representing Jessica Harrington, Sounds Of Heaven brings smart form from Ireland to the table, while Ralph Beckett’s Juliet Sierra has to concede 5lb to all rivals following her victory in the Group Three Dick Poole Stakes at two. She is the most experienced runner in the field and also the only one to run in Group One company.
“It’s an extremely hot race and the initial plan with Juliet Sierra was to go to the 1000 Guineas and we were just not happy with her scope the week before, so we gave her a quiet week the week of the Guineas,” said Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“To be honest, options are few and far between and she carries a penalty for her Group Three win at Salisbury last year.
“You would prefer to be running a nice filly like her without a penalty and maybe starting off at seven (furlongs) and working up to a mile, but when you go through the programme book, it was hard to find a race.
“We’re starting there, she’s fit and well and a filly we like. I wouldn’t be confident giving a penalty to some of the fillies in that race, like the Appleby and Gosden fillies, but she is a nice filly and we’re hopeful she will run a nice race.”
Owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum is well represented with both Kevin Ryan’s Glenlaurel and Andrew Balding’s Clochette lining up in the yellow silks with black spots, while William Haggas is another double-handed in the contest as he saddles both the reappearing Newmarket two-year-old winner Orchid Bloom and eye-catching Newbury maiden scorer Fakhama.
Connections have high hopes for the latter, with Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, saying: “She is nice. She won first time at Newbury. She is very well bred – a beautiful filly. I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t go on.”
Ghostwriter gallop sparking Cox’s Classic dream
Clive Cox has been buoyed by a racecourse gallop ahead of Ghostwriter’s Qipco 2000 Guineas bid, confident his smart Newmarket form can prove a positive in the opening Classic of the season.
The son of Invincible Spirit was unbeaten throughout his two-year-old season and finished 2023 with a statement victory on the Rowley Mile in the Royal Lodge Stakes.
With that experience under the colt’s belt, Cox was happy to forego an early-season trial in favour of a pipe-opener at Kempton, with Ghostwriter – a general 14-1 shot to claim the scalp of Aidan O’Brien’s odds-on favourite City Of Troy on May 4 – reported to have thrived over the winter.
“I’m very happy with Ghostwriter and he has his Newmarket course form,” explained Cox.
“I’m very pleased he has done exceptionally well over the winter and we will be going there with a racecourse gallop under his belt. He’s done very well and that is why he hasn’t run in a trial.
“He’s been to Kempton and he’s a very athletic, clean-winded horse who has done well over the winter and we think that will have benefitted him far more than racing on testing ground, with his previous experience at Newmarket hopefully holding him in good stead.”
Another star juvenile for the Beechdown Stables team last season was the Kennet Valley-owned Dragon Leader, who suffered defeat just the once in five starts in 2023 as he proved a real money-spinner for connections.
Big victories at York and Redcar sandwiched a near miss in a valuable Doncaster event and Cox is eyeing stepping the son of El Kabeir up in trip this term when ground conditions allow him to return to action.
“He was a very productive runner last year earning over £300,000 in prize-money,” continued Cox.
“I’m pleased to say he’s wintered well, but he’s definitely better with a dry surface and we wouldn’t be making any concrete plans at the minute. When the ground gets a little bit quicker you will see him.
“Last year he was looking like seven furlongs would help him and I would be very hopeful he will get a mile. We kept him at six last year simply because he was so well qualified for those races. Six and a half was no problem for him at Doncaster though in the Weatherbys race.”
‘Mixed emotions’ for connections of Surrey Quest after epic Scottish National
Connections of Surrey Quest may have suffered agony at Ayr in the Coral Scottish Grand National, but could have bigger and better days on the horizon, with next year’s Grand National now entering calculations.
After four miles of action, Toby Lawes’ progressive seven-year-old was left to fight out a thrilling finish to the Ayr feature with Willie Mullins’ Macdermott, with the trainers’ title-chasing Irishman’s runner coming out on top after not only a titanic battle to the line but an excruciating wait while the judge deliberated over the result.
A standard-bearer over jumps for the Surrey Racing syndicate, Surrey Quest’s owners headed to Ayr full of confidence in their Kevin Brogan-ridden 20-1 shot after some promising results this season.
And despite being left with “mixed emotions” following the nose reversal at the hands of the Danny Mullins-ridden winner, they can take comfort that their charge has continued on the upward curve that has already seen him strike twice in his four starts this term.
“We’ve got mixed emotions and we thought the horse was in absolute brilliant shape heading up there,” said Clive Clive Hadingham, co-founder of Surrey Racing with Steve Grubb.
“Statistically we might have needed the run, but other than that everything went to plan and Toby was very meticulous in his preparations. He came here in great shape and everything went to plan, we just lost out on the nod.
“Winning is everything in this business and coming second, not matter how close, it feels like we came nowhere. We’d have been happy with a top-seven finish to be honest so we have to be proud. Kevin and Toby have done a fantastic job with this horse.
“We know he is a good horse and we wouldn’t have come up here if we didn’t think we had a chance. Surrey Racing as a company doesn’t go to races we don’t think we have a chance in and we’re just so proud of the run – we honestly thought at the line we had done it.
“Willie Mullins has so much ammunition and it’s just unfortunate we have come up against one of his and I guess the funny thing is if he wasn’t going for the championship he might not have been here today.”
Surrey Quest holds an entry for the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown on the final day of the jumps season, but his exertions north of the border make it unlikely he will try to replicate what Kitty’s Light’s achieved 12 months ago and make a rapid reappearance.
Instead sights are fully turned to Liverpool and the famous Grand National fences where Surrey Quest could take in December’s Becher Chase ahead a crack at the big one itself in 12 months’ time.
Hadingham continued: “It’s just mixed emotions, we’re so proud of him and we’ve had a super time up here in Ayr. I guess now we know we’re going to go on to bigger and better things with him.
“We might have a look at the Grand National now and we might look at coming back to Ayr again. He’s such an economical jumper that now the National has changed a bit and the fences are slightly lower, that is something we can look at.
“There’s so many big races next year he can go for and the Becher is one we will look at and we’ll take it from there.”
Arrest expected to make his mark as a four-year-old
Kieran Shoemark is relishing stepping into the boots of Frankie Dettori aboard Arrest, as the St Leger runner-up makes his return in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes at Newbury.
Arrest played a key role in Dettori’s UK swansong last season and was a beaten favourite for the Italian’s final Derby ride at Epsom, before just failing to send the 53-year-old off in a blaze of Classic glory when second to Continuous at Doncaster in September.
Shoemark was three places behind Arrest with Gregory on Town Moor, but having taken the reins aboard many of John and Thady Gosden’s star Clarehaven inmates since the relocation of Dettori to California, he will get the leg-up aboard Arrest for the first time on Saturday afternoon.
The 28-year-old hopes the soft-ground loving colt can build on his positive finish to last season and feels there is plenty of improvement to be seen during his four-year-old campaign.
“He’s obviously a big horse and hopefully he’s going to improve with age,” said Shoemark.
“Hopefully the ground is not going to dry out too much at Newbury and we know he wants soft ground.
“His run in the Leger was brilliant – the ground went against me on Gregory, but he enjoyed it. He’s a proper mile-and-a-half horse, not short of speed by all means, and the softer the better for him.
“He’s a big, strapping horse and I honestly believe he will get better with age. He’s entitled to, so there will be plenty to look forward to for the year ahead.”
As well as winning the Chester Vase, Arrest’s other victory last term came at Newbury in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes and joint-trainer Thady Gosden is confident the race more commonly known as the John Porter is the ideal spot to kick-start the son of Frankel’s season.
“He’s a very talented horse, he ran great last year and was second in a Classic,” he said.
“He’s developed very well over the winter and is a horse of great size and quality and he’s really filled into his frame and has been really pleasing leading into this race.
“He doesn’t mind getting his toe in at all and the track and trip should suit.”
Arrest will be in receipt of 3lb from William Haggas’ Hamish, who went through 2023 unbeaten, winning on four occasions, all at Group Three level.
Hamish is one of two in the race for the Somerville Lodge handler alongside Mujtaba, but main hopes lie with the stable stalwart, who is owned by the trainer’s father, Brian, and got the better of Karl Burke’s Al Qareem on his final start of last year in the rearranged St Simon Stakes.
The Spigot Lodge-trained five-year-old is another slated to concede weight to Arrest and his trainer is excited to get Al Qareem back on track.
Burke said: “I’m looking forward to seeing him run and he’s been ready to run for the last month.
“He’s working well, a mile and a half is his minimum trip, but on this ground I’m happy to start him off there.
“He’ll step up and be a good one-mile-six and two-mile horse later in the year. It’ll be a tough race, but I think he’ll run really well.
“We were lucky to keep him and he got travel sickness coming back (from Dubai). He’s hard work at home, Danielle Mooney rides him every day and he pulls her arms out every day, but he’s a lovely horse to have.”
Simon and Ed Crisford’s Chesspiece was behind Arrest when sixth in the Leger before finishing off his season with a silver medal in the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot.
He makes his first start after being gelded in the royal blue of Godolphin, while Andrew Balding’s Alsakib steps out of handicap company after finishing last year on a real high on home soil.
Max Vega won this in 2022 and having finished third last season, returns for a third crack, while trainer Ralph Beckett is also represented by Salt Bay.
Last year’s Irish Derby fourth Peking Opera makes his first Flat outing for Gary Moore, having been seen juvenile hurdling this winter, with Jack Channon’s Certain Lad completing the line-up.
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