Trainer Ed McMahon is confident Winning Express can get back to winning ways
in the Group 3, £60,000 Sceptre Stakes over seven furlongs on the second day of
the St Leger Festival at Doncaster on Thursday. The three-year-old daughter of
Camacho was beaten three-quarters of a length by Royal Ascot heroine Annecdote
in the Oak Tree Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on August 2, having scored
impressively in a Listed contest at Warwick in June.
Winning Express has proved herself one of the leading fillies of her
generation on more than one occasion, finishing fourth behind Sky Lantern in the
One Thousand Guineas at Newmarket in May, and second in the Cheveley Park Stakes
at Newmarket in September 2012.
“Winning Express ran well at Goodwood and was probably beaten by a better
filly on the day, but we will see,” McMahon said. “We are running against
Annecdote again with a three-pound pull in the weights and I don’t think the
competition is any harder than it was at Goodwood.
“If you wanted to look at statistics on paper, the three pounds is probably
enough to give us the upper hand, but it all depends on how things pan out on
the day. We are entitled to be hopeful and I’m not frightened of anything, but
things can go wrong in a race — you can get trapped in pockets — so I’m just
looking for a good run.
“At this time of year, especially because she wants decent ground, you are
running out of options and I haven’t really got any more targets after this
race. I had thought about going to Keeneland, but it’s quite an expense to get
out there and she is only a three-year-old. That’s on the backburner anyway.”
Winning Express, with Graham Lee up for the first time, will clash with nine
rivals, including dual Group 3 scorer Maureen and French One Thousand Guineas
fourth Zurigha, both trained by Richard Hannon, and The Gold Cheongsam.
A total of 10 fillies and mares will also go to post for the feature race on
Ladies’ Day, the Group 2, £90,000 Park Hill Stakes over an extended 14 furlongs,
the same distance as the St Leger.
The field includes Epsom Oaks third The Lark, one of two runners for
Newmarket trainer Michael Bell, Seal of Approval, who completed a hat-trick of
wins in a 12-furlong Listed event at Newbury on August 4, and Lilly Langtry
Stakes third Alta Lilea.
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