John Quinn is confident ground conditions will not be a problem for his triple Group One-winning mare Highfield Princess when she bids to get back to winning ways in the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood on Friday.

Expertly handled by the North Yorkshire-based Quinn, she has had a fairytale career, rising through the grades from a 57-rated handicapper to win three top-class sprints last summer. She was also narrowly beaten at the Breeders’ Cup in Keeneland.

A half-length runner-up on her York reappearance, she was then turned out twice in four days at Royal Ascot, narrowly beaten in the King’s Stand and placed again in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.

She drops back a furlong now, with Quinn optimistic she can make the most of what appears a gilt-edged opportunity.

“We’re happy with her,” said the Malton-based trainer. “Who knows what the ground will be like on Friday, but the ground will be fine – she has won on soft ground before.

“She is in good form and we’re very hopeful. I’m not worried about the draw – it is other horses I worry about!

“You wouldn’t know where they’ll be racing come Friday, but straight line, she’ll be fine.”

Karl Burke saddles both Silky Wilkie, who was runner-up to the reopposing Nymphadora in York’s City Walls, and White Lavender, a short-neck runner-up in the Prix de l’Abbaye at ParisLongchamp in October.

Burke said: “It is a bit of a punt with Silky Wilkie. He has done nothing but surprise us and impress us all the way through his career, really.

“We never expected him to get to these heights, but he deserves his chance now in these black type races.

“It is certainly a big step up for him, but he won’t mind the ground, he’ll like the track and with the ground being so soft, it might not suit some of the others. The draw in stall seven is good.”

White Lavender returned to France to take a Group Three in May, but was a little too keen on her last run in the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh.

Burke added: “White Lavender is obviously a high-class sprinter and she’s proven herself in the Abbaye.

“She disappointed herself in Ireland, but she ended up making the running, which wasn’t the plan with her – she has to have a bit of cover and come late.

“Maybe I sent her to Ireland a bit too fresh and she took off with Chris Hayes, and she never finishes her races when she runs like that.

“You can put a line through that run. She seems in good form and she’ll love the ground.”

Charlie Hills has won this race five times in the last six seasons, four times with Battaash (2017-2020) and last season with Khaadem.

He saddles both the hat-trick-seeking Equality, who landed the Coral Charge at Sandown when last seen, and Equilateral, who was a decent fifth to Bradsell in the Group One King’s Stand at Royal Ascot on his last run.

Makarova was a length and a half behind Equality at Sandown and Ed Walker, whose string is in fine form, feels the four-year-old Acclamation filly has plenty to offer now that she is becoming accustomed to running over the minimum trip.

He said: “I’m actually super-excited about this race – she is bouncing. Since dropping back to five (furlongs) she has improved. She is really learning to be a five-furlong sprinter now.

“Last time she really jumped and travelled, where in her previous couple of runs over five, she had slightly been outpaced.

“Prior to Sandown, I would have been a bit worried that this race might have had a bit too much early speed for her, but I think she showed at Sandown she’s got bags of boot.

“She won’t mind the ground at all, but drawn in four isn’t great. That won’t help. It is not ideal.”

Regional is likely to skip the King George Qatar Stakes, with Ed Bethell favouring heading straight to the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes with his in-form sprinter.

Although having always been a consistent operator over the shorter distances, the five-year-old had won just one of his first 10 outings for the Middleham handler.

However, he has taken his form to the next level this season, winning a competitive York handicap in fine style before striking with authority in the Listed Achilles Stakes at Haydock.

Bethell is now keen to test the waters at a higher level with his speedster and with the Regional proven on the Knavesmire, the trainer is keen to head to the Nunthorpe fresh rather than take on what could be a stellar cast at Goodwood.

“He is still entered in the King George at Goodwood, but I would imagine it would have to cut up for him to go there,” he said.

“Goodwood wouldn’t really be his track. We ran him in the Stewards’ Cup and although he ran well, he absolutely hated the downhill.

“I imagine we will be going straight to the Nunthorpe. He’s very good fresh and he’s a big, flat track type of horse.”

Regional was meant to run over the Nunthorpe course and distance in the City Walls Stakes earlier this month, but was pulled out when rain altered the going prior to the contest.

Bethell is content with the decision he made, with the focus firmly on keeping Regional’s confidence high ahead of his shot at Group One glory.

“I could have run him at York in the City Walls with a penalty, but he is a fast ground horse and it did go good to soft,” he added.

“I was conscious I want to go to the Nunthorpe with a horse full of confidence, rather than me ruining his confidence by running him on soft ground.”

As well as Regional, Bethell has also seen Oviedo fly the flag for his Thorngill House string and the handler was pleased with his third-placed finish in Newbury’s Steventon Stakes despite the race not unfolding in the colt’s favour.

“Unfortunately the hour and a half of rain before the race got into the ground, so it was softer than ideal,” explained Bethell.

“But I thought he ran very well and way above 100. He needs a fast pace to aim at really and it was quite a stop-start race, which doesn’t play to his strengths.

“I was thoroughly encouraged by the run and it was maybe not a career best, but it was right up there with the best performances he’s shown me in the past.”

Bethell will now wait to see how the assessor adjusts Oviedo’s mark before finalising future running plans, with big-money pots at both Goodwood and York, as well as a raid on Deauville on the agenda.

“I will see what the handicapper does with him,” he added. “There’s two very nice handicaps, one at Goodwood and one at York that he might slip into nicely.

“He’s a very hard horse to place in those Listed and Group races because, like yesterday, you could end up taking on a horse like Al Aasy who we all know is very good.

“He will have an entry in the Prix Nureyev (August 13) at Deauville as well, which would be very much ground dependent, but Deauville in August, you might just get some good ground over there.”

Equality will bid for a hat-trick when he takes a shot at the King George Qatar Stakes during the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

Owned by Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds, the five-year-old speedster dropped back to handicap company when scoring at Windsor on his penultimate start, before adding to his tally at Sandown in the Group Three Coral Charge

Connections were thrilled to get that first Group race victory under his belt at the Esher track and Equality will now head to the Sussex Downs for a contest handler Charlie Hills has won five times in the last six years thanks to Battaash (2017-2020) and Khaadem (2022).

“It’s really exciting and he was fantastic at Sandown,” said Sam Hoskins, racing manager for the owners.

“We kind of felt he had unfinished business at Group level and obviously there wasn’t much choice after his run at Windsor because he was up to a mark of 108.

“After Haydock earlier in the season our confidence was a bit dented, but the handicapper was good and let us drop back into handicap company and luckily he ran the same race as he did at Windsor at Sandown.”

He went on: “The plan is to go for the King George at Goodwood with him.

“He’s got a very high cruising speed and he should really enjoy a race like that, it’s really exciting.

“It’s going to be a hot race, Highfield Princess is probably going and a lot of other good sprinters will be heading there. It will be a red-hot affair”

There is further interest in the race for Hoskins in the form of Clive Cox’s Get Ahead, who also has the Group Two event in her sights.

Owned by Hot To Trot racing, for whom Hoskins also acts as racing manager, the four-year-old filly has enjoyed a fine season, scoring in the Cecil Frail at Haydock before being narrowly denied at Chantilly in the Prix du Gros-Chene.

She finished three lengths behind Equality when last seen in the Coral Charge, but Goodwood is poised to prove a more suitable venue for the daughter of Showcasing.

“She’s a cracking filly and things just didn’t go her way at Sandown,” continued Hoskins.

“She wants top of the ground and she is really interesting for Goodwood as she won over course and distance there last year beating Silky Wilkie.

“She has progressed again this season and will have a big each-way chance there hopefully.”

He added: “Both horses have had this as their aim and at the beginning of the season we thought if things go well and they progress as we hoped they might do, this is the race for them.

“They are not too dissimilar horses despite one being a gelding and one being a filly, and they are both horses with very high cruising speeds. You could run both of them over four furlongs if there was a race at that distance. It’s really exciting.”

Highfield Princess will head for the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood after her two valiant efforts in defeat at Royal Ascot.

While the Goodwood race is only a Group Two, it is worth £170,000 to the winner and she will not have to carry a Group One penalty.

Quinn had considered the July Cup, but decided to keep her to five furlongs for the rest of the season, which means she will not be defending her Prix Maurice de Gheest title in Deauville which she won last season.

“We decided against the July Cup and she’s going to go to Goodwood,” said Quinn.

“That’s a slight change in plan, but we’re going down the sprinting five-furlong route, that’s our thinking.

“We thought, like last year, we’d give her a bit of a break now, a bit of a midsummer break and then head to Goodwood.

“She doesn’t have a Group One penalty which is handy.

“After Goodwood, we’ll then look at two of the races she won last year (Nunthorpe Stakes at York and Flying Five at the Curragh).”