Dermot Weld has delivered a “healthy, sound, and well” bulletin on his star filly Tahiyra, but is holding fire yet on committing her to next week’s Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Europe’s champion juvenile filly of 2022 came agonisingly close to Classic success at Newmarket when coming up half a length short of Mawj in a dramatic finish to the English 1,000 Guineas.
Weld’s pre-race fears about the first Classic of the season coming a couple of weeks sooner than ideal appeared to be confirmed as the Aga Khan-owned filly travelled like a winner for much of the race only to eventually come up short.
A mouthwatering rematch could occur on Sunday week at the Curragh with this time Tahiyra having a Classic opportunity on her own doorstep.
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Some bookmakers rate Tahiyra a 5-4 chance to get revenge on her home patch with her Godolphin rival at 2-1. Tahiyra’s stable companion Tarawa, also owned by the Aga Khan and runner-up at Leopardstown recently, is a 10-1 shot.
“Tahiyra ran a super race in Newmarket, and I’m pleased with the way she’s come out, but we will make no decisions, at the moment. She is in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot as well.
“She’s healthy, sound and well and it [the Irish Guineas] is still a possibility, definitely. But we’ll review everything and make a decision early next week,” Weld said on Monday.
The renowned Curragh trainer has another high-class Aga Khan filly in Azazat who impressed when breaking her maiden at Leopardstown recently.
She is as low as 10-1 with some firms for the Oaks at Epsom but is unlikely to take up that Classic option.
“Azazat would be less likely to go for the Oaks, put it that way. She put a good performance at Leopardstown but there are a couple of other possibilities for her and the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot at this stage would probably be more likely,” Weld added.
If the Curragh hosts the final chance to secure Guineas glory this season, then the jockeying for position ahead of Epsom continues at York this week.
After Savethelastdance’s spectacular 22-length romp at Chester last week, Aidan O’Brien has the clear Oaks favourite in his charge and can take a ‘sighter’ on potential opposition in Wednesday’s Musidora Stakes.
O’Brien runs last month’s Gowran maiden winner Lambada in the traditional Oaks trial that the ill-fated Snowfall won in 2021 ahead of her record-breaking victory at Epsom.
Lambada isn’t entered for Epsom but could give her trainer a gauge on the highly rated Newmarket filly Infinite Cosmos. The latter is trained by Michael Stoute and is currently second favourite behind Savethelastdance for the Oaks.
O’Brien’s Continuous, an unbeaten son of the Japanese sire, Heart’s Cry, is set to return to action in Thursday’s Al Basti Dante Stakes.
After breaking his maiden at the Curragh last year, Continuous subsequently scored at Group Three level in Saint-Cloud. Potential opposition in the last major Derby Trial includes Godolphin’s Flying Honours and Stoute’s supplementary entry, Passenger.
This weekend’s Group One highlight is Newbury’s Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes which is without an Irish entry after Monday’s latest acceptance stage and also the former ante-post favourite Inspiral.
The Cheveley Park owned star’s name didn’t figure among the 16 left in the mile feature and she will instead wait for the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot.
“There is no issue with her. Mrs Thompson [owner] was adamant that she wanted the filly to go straight to Royal Ascot, as we did last year,” said the Cheveley Park spokesman, Chris Richardson.
“She looks great, but she is not quite there, is the general feeling. It is like last year, so rather than rush her, we decided to wait.
“It has been cold and miserable, and it has just taken time for these fillies to come to themselves. We just felt she blossomed in June last year and we didn’t really want to rush her, so the Queen Anne will be her likely target,” he added.
The new Lockinge favourite is Godolphin’s Modern Games, although Shadwell’s Mutasaabeq is a leading contender too on the back of beating Native Trial at Newmarket last time, when first-time blinkers appeared to work well on the headstrong sort.
“You don’t go into a race like that thinking you are going to beat a Guineas winner necessarily, but I was obviously really pleased with him,” said spokesman Angus Gold.
“All being well, if he turns up in the same sort of form he was at Newmarket, they will all have to go some to beat him.
“Certainly, the early signs – and though it is only one run so far – are that his behaviour was much better. He is a much more mature and relaxed horse and he was heading very much the right way the other day. The blinkers certainly didn’t seem to do him any harm,” Gold added.
