SANDRINE and Quick Suzy are vying at the top of the betting in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
A clash of the two-year-old speedsters will be a highlight of the Cambridgeshire meeting, with the Andrew Balding-trained Sandrine enjoying three straight wins at the start of her career: a debut success at Kempton Park in May was followed by the Group Three Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, before cruising home in the Group Two bet365 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket in July, so BBC Sport
Speaking recently, Balding said: “Sandrine looks very good and I’ve been thrilled with her last two runs (Albany Stakes and Duchess of Cambridge Stakes). She will probably run in the Lowther (York) then all eyes will be on the Cheveley Park. She will carry a penalty (in Lowther) but we didn’t want to wait until Newmarket to run her again. She seems to be very versatile ground wise. She is a very smart filly and is an absolute pleasure to train.
“I think both of her two Group wins are equally as impressive as the other as they were under two very different conditions. It was nice to see her do it on the quick ground in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and prove she is not a one trick pony and that she has got the ability to handle different conditions. That form has been given a boost which is always nice to see.
“She had worked well on fast ground before the Albany so we thought she would handle it. We were worried going into the Albany with the ground going as soft as it was but she managed to cope with it. She looks good on any surface.”
Quick Suzy impressed in Ireland before heading over to Royal Ascot and winning the Queen Mary Stakes. While jockey Gary Carroll was required to keep the horse up to her work, she travelled well throughout and was going away from Twilight Gleaming at the finish – a performance in a Group Two deemed good enough by connections to target a Group One for her follow-up. She was expected to race in the Keeneland Stakes at the Curragh – a race won by Ebro Rover – but the Gavin Cromwell-trained filly was instead lined up for a trip to France for the Prix Morny ahead of the Newmarket clash.
The plans for Quick Suzy are moving at speed with connections eyeing a trip across the Atlantic after Newmarket for a crack at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar, reports Wacky Races and a horse betting site William Hill (according to odds).
The two at the head of the betting will not have it all their own way with the leading entrants all expected to lock horns again in the 1000 Guineas next year. One trainer who knows all about winning the 1000 Guineas is Aiden O’Brien, his recent training record reading five wins in the last six renewals of the second classic of the season.
Therefore, any entrant in the Cheveley Park from Aidan O’Brien should be looked at carefully, and he has Heart to Heart and Tenebrism joining the Irish raiding party for the six-furlong clash. Tenebrism is a first-season sire of Caravaggio, and while she will only be contesting only her second race, a price of just 8/1 is a clear indication of the confidence there is in her ability.