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Eight two-year-old fillies’ will head to post for the Group 1 juvenile prize on Saturday as they bid to establish their Classic credentials on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile.
It's not often you scan down the card of the Fillies' Mile and don't see a representative from the John & Thady Gosden stable but for the first time since 2017, Clarehaven stables will not be represented and that looks significant given they've landed the last two renewals with smart fillies.
Persistent heavy rainfall overnight has seen the ground officially change to soft and although it's certainly important to note, it shouldn't have too much of a bearing on the contest with those towards the fore of the market all having proven form with cut underfoot.
The Ralph Beckett-trained Classical Song built on a promising debut second on soft ground at Goodwood when beating a handful of subsequent winners second-time-out at Sandown. Stepping up to a mile should pose no issues for the daughter of Lope De Vega, whose progeny tend to appreciate some give in the ground. She'll be partnered by Rossa Ryan for the first time with the in-form rider stating: "I know the Beckett team like her, and Ryan [Moore] liked her the last day and she looks a very good, honest, genuine sort. The signs look right to have a pop at it."
There's been plenty of market support for Noel Meade's Caught U Looking, who stepped up on her Leopardstown maiden success with a smart performance in the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes at the Curragh on her third outing. Noel Meade's yard is in great heart at present as well with the Castletown Kilpatrick-based trainer operating at a healthy 29% strike-rate for the last fourteen days.
Meade said: "She won at Leopardstown very well and she carried on and won a Group 3. She just about won it and didn't win by any long way, but she is by Harzand and I think the step up to a mile will be a help.
"Her sire was a good mile-and-a-half horse and you would imagine that is where she will be going [next year]. She certainly stayed on well at the Curragh and went through the line well and was only getting going at the end of the seven furlongs. I would say seven is as short as you would like to go, so you would be hoping she will run a nice race.
"I'm a little bit concerned by very fast ground but hopefully we get a bit of rain that would help."
The bet365 Fillies' Mile will mark a significant milestone for new trainer Ollie Sangster, who saddles his first runner in Group 1 company and plenty of eyes will be drawn towards Shuwari as she bids to get back to winning ways following her second-place finish in the Rockfel Stakes here last time.
The daughter of New Bay quickly proved herself to be a smart filly in the making by landing the Listed EBF Star Stakes at Sandown (soft) on her second start and the form looks rock-solid with the runner-up that day, Fallen Angel, coming out to win the Group 1 Moyglare Stud next time and the third-placed horse Soprano since placing twice in group company.
Sangster said: "She ran a very good race, and we were very happy in the circumstances. She has come out of the race well and I'm looking forward to Friday.
"She's a straightforward horse who relaxes and settles well and I can't see the step up in trip being a problem.
"It's nice to have a chance in a race like this and hopefully she will run well for us."
Aidan O'Brien has landed this prestigious Group 1 with the likes of Minding, Rhododendron and Together Forever over the last decade and he'll be hoping his filly, Ylang Ylang, can reverse the form with Shuwari on their Rockfel meeting last-time-out.
She's set to be partnered by Ryan Moore once more, who told his Betfair column: "She was taken off her feet a bit on quick ground over seven furlongs here last time, so the step up to a mile will suit and she has form on soft if we get a lot of rain.
"I'd like to think she is the filly to beat if returning to the form of her Leopardstown win. We have always thought of her as a Group 1 filly."
Andrew Balding's May Hill Stakes runner-up See The Fire requires plenty of respect with proven form on soft ground over this trip, while Frankie Dettori will bid to work his magic on impressive Lingfield novice winner Ambiente Amigo for trainer Michael Bell.
In summary, Shuwari sets the standard on her recent second-place finish in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes here last time and with a combination of stepping up to a mile back on softer ground to suit, she's taken to get back to winning ways and provide her first-season trainer with a memorable Group 1 victory.
RACING & SPORTS SELECTION - SHUWARI
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