3 minute read
Hugo Palmer hopes dual Group One-winning filly Covert Love can mix it with the best colts in the business this season and transform herself into a genuine Arc contender.
The four-year-old was one of the biggest success stories of last year after landing both the Irish Oaks and Prix de l'Opera, having only shed her maiden tag at Chelmsford in May.
With another winter on her back, the Newmarket handler feels the daughter of Azamour is now capable of going on to even bigger and better things, not just against her own sex.
He said: "I don't want to tempt fate with her (Covert Love), but she looks like a totally different filly from last year. She has done better than any other horse I've seen over the winter.
"The big thing is she is rated 116 and with the allowances she would get, she would only have to find around a length with Jack Hobbs and the way she looks, you certainly wouldn't bet against her finding it.
"It's exciting when you get a filly like this. They can either just be a filly competitive at taking on the fillies or one capable of taking on the colts, like Ouija Board. We are hoping she is a Ouija Board type.
"The race I want to win is the Arc and that's the dream. When you have a filly like this you have to think big."