Sendmylovetorose came out of the bottom of the
barrel at just €5,000 at the sales and was lucky to escape serious injury in the stalls at
Royal Ascot, but she
has proven herself worthy of pole position at the top table by hard graft and
Sunday’s Group 1
Moyglare Stud at The Curragh could be her crowning glory.
Just days after her traumatic
experience in the
gates ahead of the Group 3 Albany at the Royal meeting, John Gildea’s bay was at
The Curragh winning the Group 3 Grangecon Stud and built on that experience to add the
Group 2 Cherry
Hinton to her tally at Newmarket July 13. Now up to seven furlongs and
encountering
ground better than soft for the first time, she has questions to answer, but
trainer Andrew
Oliver is not expecting either to be a problem.
“She is a light-moving filly
and, although she has
won on soft ground, we think she will appreciate the likely better ground at the
weekend,” he
said. “She is also stepping up to seven furlongs, but we have never held that as
a concern.
She is in super form and has really thrived since her victory at Newmarket back
in July. There
have been very little opportunities for her since then, and this is the next
logical step.
Hopefully, after all the experience she has now gained, she will be more
battle-hardened.
“With
the year we have had up to now, the ground has been testing and all her runs
have been on
that. We know she handles that, so going on better ground will be a new
experience for her. I
suppose the other thing is it is two and a half months since she last ran, so
she might be a bit
fresh.”
His Highness The Aga Khan’s juveniles typically take more time than most, but
John Oxx has
been able to campaign Harasiya more aggressively than the later-developing types
so far in
2012. Impressive on her winning debut over seven furlongs at Leopardstown June
14, the homebred returned to that track and trip to beat My Special J’s by 2 1/2
lengths in the Group 3 Silver Flash. Sent off at 2-5 when unable to confirm that form with the
runner-up in the
Group 2 Debutante over this course August 12, she has just a
neck to find
and is likely to be still progressing.
Oxx also saddles the same owner-breeder’s
Karamaya, who showed smart acceleration in deep ground when scoring on debut
over six furlongs here August
26.
Richard Hannon is always to be respected in juvenile contests and relies on
the supplemented Sky Lantern, who came up short against two unbeaten fillies in
Certify in Newmarket’s Group 3 Sweet Solera August 11 and Ollie Olga in the
Group 3 Prestige at Goodwood a fortnight later.
“Aidan O’Brien has won the race
six times,
including the last two years, but it does not look as either of his two runners
this time around
are the same caliber as Misty For Me and Maybe, so we thought this was the
perfect
opportunity to give Sky Lantern a shot at a Group 1,” Hannon explained. “She
worked well on
Tuesday morning and is a hardy filly, who has benefited from missing the speed
merchants at
Royal Ascot, and she must have solid claims of grabbing some black-type.”
The
aforementioned Ollie Olga’s stable companion Orpha could be
anything, and it is noteworthy that Mick Channon is willing to test her against
these
experienced rivals. Prince Faisal’s homebred looked smart when winning on debut
over six
furlongs at Ffos Las August 13 and, being a half-sister to Olden Times,
should appreciate this extra furlong.
Last year’s Group 1 Prix de l’Opera heroine and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf runner-up Nahrain looks for a return to form after two off-the-board efforts so far in
2012 in Sunday’s Group 2 Blandford. Too keen
when last in Goodwood’s Group 1 Nassau August 4, the four-year-old should have no excuses this time, and trainer
Roger Varian is
hopeful she will show her true colors here.
“She has been disappointing so far
this year, but
she is showing the right signs at home,” he said. “This is her first run in a
Group 2 without her
Group 1 penalty, and if she can recapture her former sparkle, she would have
every chance.”
Up came
good after
some near-misses in Pattern company when recording an authoritative success in
the nine-furlong Group 3 Lanwades Stud Fillies at this venue August 26, and is
the kind of
tough sophomore with which Aidan O’Brien excels. Caponata lost her unbeaten
record when runner-up in the Group 3 Kilboy Estate over nine
furlongs here
and had Up a neck back in third on that occasion.
At this stage, it seems folly to oppose Famous Name at Group 3 level, and a
13th Pattern-race success beckons as he lines up for Sunday’s Group 3 Solonaway. So
impressive when beating Born to Sea Group 2 Royal Whip over
10 furlongs at this track August 12, the Juddmonte stalwart faces some
unexposed
rivals here headed by Declaration of War. The unbeaten colt was last seen winning a Deauville conditions event by
eight lengths
over 7 1/2 furlongs December 16 and is a fascinating transfer from the Jean-Claude Rouget stable.
“He seems okay, but he hasn’t run in a long time and we haven’t killed him at
home,” jockey
Joseph O’Brien told PA Sport. “We didn’t have him in the early part of the year,
and he is still
an inexperienced horse having only run twice in his life, so we’ll just have to
see what
happens. It’s a very hot race, and if our horse can run well and improve from
it, we’ll be
happy.”
On paper, George Vancouver should find Sunday’s Group 3 Round
Tower an easier task than he faced in the Group 1 Prix Morny last time and
appears one of
Ballydoyle’s leading juvenile colts at this stage. Beaten just three-quarters of a length
by Reckless
Abandon in the six-furlong Deauville feature August 19, he
sets a clear
standard on that evidence.
Another Coolmore representative who could play a
major role is the
May 13 Leopardstown maiden scorer Cougar Ridge. Shelved since
that
impressive debut, the David Wachman trainee is a fascinating contender along
with Lightnin Hopkins, who beat the re-opposing Boston Rocker in a conditions event at Naas August 6.
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