...

French date for Thakhira

Al Thakhira: Remains on course for tilt at the French 1000 Guineas

Al Thakhira: Remains on course for tilt at the French 1000 Guineas

Al Thakhira looks likely to bypass the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday and wait for the French equivalent.

The daughter of Dubawi needs cut in the ground, and with that not guaranteed at Headquarters, trainer Marco Botti will look to send her across the Channel for the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp on Sunday week.

Al Thakhira showed she is a force to be reckoned with when just going under by a head to J Wonder in the Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury on her seasonal debut.

“We are thinking of the French Guineas rather than the English Guineas for her,” said Botti.

“We left her in the race in case the ground would change a lot, which I doubt it will. They are forecasting showers, but not significant rain.

“The ground looks like being fast enough and, in that case, we prefer to take a chance in the French 1000.

“It was very soft at Longchamp at the weekend. There is a better chance to find some cut in the ground in France than in Newmarket.

“We know it takes a lot of rain to change it to soft here.”

Botti will still be represented in the 1000 Guineas by Euro Charline, who was supplemented at the confirmation stage on Monday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.