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William Buick has picked up a plum spare ride on American raider Spendarella in Friday’s Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
With Godolphin set to scratch Wild Beauty from the Group One mile contest, the 33-year-old will partner Graham Motion's representative, who comes into the race on the back of three successive victories.
Englishman Motion, one of the leading trainers in the States, is not averse to having runners at the Royal meeting, having saddled the likes of Animal Kingdom in the Queen Anne nine years ago and Sharing, who was runner-up in the Coronation Stakes in 2020.
Despite landing a Grade Two contest at Keeneland over a mile on her last run in April, Spendarella will have plenty on her plate tackling runaway Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs and Cachet, who took the English equivalent, plus the returning Inspiral.
The daughter of Karakonite did her last piece of work at Fair Hill in Maryland last Saturday and arrived in Newmarket on Tuesday after a long trip from Lexington. She has settled nicely at the National Stud.
Speaking from Belmont Park, where Motion saddles Highland Chief in the Grade One Manhattan Stakes on Saturday, assistant Ian Wilson said: "Spendarella is doing really well. She left Lexington really early on Tuesday morning. All was good and she has had her first couple of days in Newmarket.
"We have shipped her over a little bit earlier than we probably would have, so she is going to work there and William Buick is going to give her a spin.
"We are really lucky to have him on board. We got lucky, as I believe Godolphin have scratched their horse.
"Graham made a really good point that there are so many variables at Ascot.
"We talked about it and he said that in the past we have run other horses there and sometimes we used European jockeys and sometimes we used American jocks, and the one thing he said is the course is just so different.
"Taking that variable out of having somebody on her who knows what to expect, is going to be huge – and obviously William is one of the best in the world, so you can't be too upset about that."