London – Preening can recoup Sandown losses by taking Listed honours in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot on Friday.
James Fanshawe’s lightly raced filly was sent off the 5-2 favourite for the Coral Distaff at her first attempt at this level but could only manage to take third place behind Awesometank.
She had attracted good market support on the back of a convincing victory in a handicap over 1600m at Sandown last month in what was only her second start since returning from a 211-day break.
She may have come up a little short but she is clearly worth a second chance at Listed company on what will only be her sixth race.
Atty Persse sets a good standard for the rest to aim at in the JGR Handicap.
It might be that Roger Charlton’s four-year-old never quite hits the heights that were hoped of him in his early days, but that does not mean he has not paid his way, far from it.
His best moment to date came in the King George V Stakes at the Royal fixture last year, but things did not go plan after that at Newmarket and York, when the St Leger had been in the mix.
Gelded over the winter, he ran an excellent race to be third in the Old Newton Cup on his comeback at Haydock earlier this month and will have conditions to suit, off basically the same mark.
The feature event at York’s evening fixture is the Lyric Fillies’ Stakes.
The filly fancied to claim top honours in the Listed contest is Roger Varian’s Rasima, who with her three-year-old allowance comes out as the top-rated runner in the field.
The daughter of Iffraaj won a Nottingham handicap in the spring, but it is her latest effort – when runner-up to Smart Call in the Group Three Hoppings Stakes at Newcastle – that really confirms her as a major contender for this event.
Dream Of Honour has obvious claims in the Unlimited Free Race Replays Novice Stakes at Thirsk.
Richard Fahey’s colt was a seemingly unfancied 33-1 shot on his racecourse debut at York earlier in the month, but belied those odds with an excellent effort to finish a never-nearer third.
The son of Dream Ahead showed signs of his inexperience in the early stages before charging home, shaping as though he would improve significantly for the outing.
If that does prove to be the case, he should prove very hard to beat in this lesser grade.
Choral Music can continue her remarkable campaign in the Fly London Fillies’ Handicap at Newmarket.
Jonathan Portman has saddled the three-year-old to win four of her five starts in 2018, seeing her rating rise 9kg.
She is 4kg higher than when scoring on her most recent outing at Leicester, but the manner of that success suggested such a rise is not insurmountable. – Press Association