SWEET SOLERA STAKES FOR TWO YEAR OLD FILLIES TO BE RUN AT NEWMARKET TODAY 2.35pm
Nine promising fillies are set to line up in one of the most informative juvenile contests of the season, the £40,000 Group Three German-Thoroughbred.com Sweet Solera Stakes (2.35pm), highlight of a seven-race card at Newmarket on Saturday, 7th August.
Recent winners of the seven-furlong contest have included Soviet Song, who posted a convincing victory in 2002 en route to five Group One wins, and the 2008 champion two-year-old filly Rainbow View, who progressed to triumph at the highest level in both the Fillies’ Mile and the Matron Stakes.
Last year’s contest saw Long Lashes follow up Listed success at the Curragh with a comfortable victory on her first start for Godolphin, although it was the fourth home Snow Fairy who subsequently took the limelight with a pair of stunning victories in this season’s English and Irish Oaks.
Snow Fairy’s trainer Ed Dunlop will this year be represented by Musharakaat, who was the ready winner of a seven-furlong maiden on the Polytrack of Kempton Park on her only start on 14th July.
Angus Gold, racing manager to the Iffraaj filly’s owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, said: “Musharakaat is in good form at the moment - I spoke to Ed this morning and he seems happy with her.
“We had the option of running in a novice contest at Lingfield next Tuesday but we feel that she has improved since Kempton and deserves to take her chance at Newmarket.
“She is taking a big step up but, if you take out Luca Cumani’s filly Khor Sheed, the race has an open look about it so we thought that we would let Musharakaat run and see if she is up to Group class.
“She will certainly get the seven furlongs and we are hopeful that she is a progressive filly. She won nicely on her debut, when she probably needed the run, and she will have come on for that outing.
“We have given her entries in some of the top end of season races and her sire Iffraaj is doing well. We don’t know much about her but she seems to be heading in the right direction and we will learn a bit more about her on Saturday.”
Khor Sheed will return to the July Course after scoring over six furlongs in the Listed totesport.com Empress Stakes on 26th June, while Crying Lightening, from the stable of Peter Chapple-Hyam, and the Mick Channon-trained Fork Handles are set to re-oppose after coming home third and fourth respectively in a Sandown Listed contest on 22nd July.
White Moonstone, representing last year’s winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor, and the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Clinical have both recorded impressive victories on their sole starts.
The field is completed by Al Madina, from the stable of Bryan Smart, the Clive Brittain-trained Elkmait and Emma’s Gift, who was fifth behind subsequent Group Two Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cherry Hinton Stakes winner Memory in the Group Three Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot for trainer Julia Feilden.
Newmarket also races tomorrow evening, Friday, 6th August, when there could also be some stars of the future on show in the Talk Night Club Maiden Stakes (6.45pm). Run over seven furlongs and restricted to two-year-olds who have never run, the contest has proved very informative since it was inaugurated two years ago.
In 2008, the finish was fought out between Wingwalker and Delegator, who progressed to beat all bar the great Sea The Stars in the following year’s 2000 Guineas while Godolphin’s Al Zir got the better of Awesome Act last year with the latter going on to enjoy Grade Three success in the US.
This year’s renewal has attracted 17 declarations with Sir Michael Stoute represented by Audacious, owned by the Queen, while Godolphin’s Mahmood Al Zarooni has two runners in Arc Light and Biondetti.
Barry Hills is represented by the Hamdan Al Maktoum-owned Ektibaas, a son of Haafhd and a grandson of one of the most outstanding broodmares ever seen, Fall Aspen. The same owner is also represented by Lejaam, trained by John Dunlop and from the family of Group One winner and leading sire Invincible Spirit.
Luca and Sara Cumani’s Fittocks Stud often produces horses of note and they are represented by Franciscan while Richard Hannon, so proficient with his juveniles this season, runs Touch Of Red.
Following the success of the Talk Night Club Maiden Stakes, unraced fillies will also get the chance to prove their potential on Saturday’s card in the Home of Racing Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (3.45pm), also run over seven furlongs.
A field of 17 newcomers features the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Buttonhole, a half-sister to Group One winner Red Bloom, and Morning Charm, a half-sister to Group One St Leger victor Lucarno from the stable of John Gosden.
For more information please contact:
Michael Prosser, Clerk of the Course and Director of Racing, 07802 844 578
Tony Rushmer, Racing PR Manager, 07702 579 382
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