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Perfect Persuasive

3 minute read

Persuasive extended her perfect record to four by running out the impressive one and a quarter length winner of the Listed Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot this afternoon.

The 11/4 favourite was always travelling powerfully under jockey Frankie Dettori and she quickly put daylight between herself and her rivals when asked for her effort just over a furlong from home.

Trainer John Gosden was delighted with the performance of the unbeaten three-year-old filly and revealed that she would seek further black type later on in the season.

"This has been a bit of a plan," explained the trainer.

"She missed a bit of time during the winter and I had to get a third run into her at Chelmsford to make her eligible for this.

"She's a sweet lovely filly and I love her to bits. She was favourite today and I was obviously hopeful and if I had a banker for the week, if there is such a thing, then she was it.

"She's done it well. I'll have to have a word with the jockey (Dettori) as he hit the front too soon but he's riding well our boy.

"This is Frankie's bare minimum (8st 9lb) so he's done incredibly well to get down to this racing weight. We'll see where we go now but we've got black type at Royal Ascot and it doesn't get much better than that - for a filly and also for people that breed (owners Cheveley Park Stud).

"She's done it well today on ground that she wasn't exactly crazy about. We'll stay with black type and we know that the French hold those sort of races for three-year-olds more than we do so we'll look at that and give her a smart entry here in Britain and see where we go from there."

After dismounting via the aerial route from Persuasive's saddle, Dettori said: "She is improving and it was always the plan to come here, and although she is by Dark Angel I felt she coped with the ground, but didn't love it. On good ground I would have waited a bit longer and used her explosive turn of foot.

"On this ground I had to ride a different race - you can't wait too long because it takes them a long time to pick up. She's now won three in a row and while she only carried 8st 9lb today she is improving. She can try something bigger now."

Reflecting on Lady Aurelia's win for US trainer Wesley Ward, Dettori said: "Wesley told me she was good, but I didn't believe him. I was really pleased with the fractions through the race, and I thought I would coast her home and get the job done, but she found another gear out of the blue. To win a two-year-old race by seven lengths at Royal Ascot doesn't happen very often.

"There's no chance I will be able to do the weight to ride her at York in the Nunthorpe Stakes, where she would have about 8st. One of the American jockeys will fly over to ride her, but she will be very hard to beat.

"Now I've had three winners in two days and still three days to go and some good chances. I'm enjoying my job so far."


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