LADIES ARE FOREVER will today try to emulate her sire Monsieur Bond’s achievement of winning the Duke of York Blue Square Stakes in the colours of prominent owner Reg Bond.
The Pocklington-based businessman, who is behind the sponsorship of the Dante Festival’s opening Infinity Tyres Stakes handicap, landed the six furlong Group 2 race in 2004.
This year, his representative in a high-quality field of 14 at York is the talented three-year-old filly Ladies Are Forever.
She enjoyed a fine juvenile campaign in 2010, finishing third in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes and then winning the £130,000 first prize in Redcar’s Two-Year-Old Trophy last October.
Trained by Geoffrey Oldroyd at Brawby, near Malton, she reappeared at Newmarket last month in the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes.
On that occasion she could only finish fifth of 11 to the Richard Fahey-trained Barefoot Lady.
But Oldroyd said: “She is a lot better filly than the one that ran in the Nell Gwyn. She didn’t really act on the track or quite get home over seven furlongs so we are back to sprinting.
“We are very pleased with her. The Nell Gwyn came a bit early for her but she has come on for that run – she looks better in herself and is going better.
“With three-year-old fillies, you don’t really want to be taking on older horses at this time of the year but there is not a lot else for her. She is a May foal and late maturing, so she will get stronger and better as the year goes on.
“But she will get the ground she wants – on the soft side of good – and she is in great nick.”
Today’s card, which gets underway at 1.30pm, also stages the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes.
There is a select field of five for the Group 3 race, in which Arizona Jewel will bid to give trainer Henry Cecil an incredible tenth victory in the race.
• Don’t miss Steve Carroll’s reports and Tom O’Ryan’s tips from York all this week in The Press.
Bare essentials
CHAMPION jockey Paul Hanagan thinks Barefoot Lady will be “right up there” when she steps up in trip to tackle today’s Tattersalls Musidora Stakes at York Racecourse.
The Nell Gwyn victor, trained by Malton’s Richard Fahey, was fifth in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier this month and takes on ten furlongs for the first time on Knavesmire.
The Musidora, a trial for the Investec Oaks at Epsom, will see the daughter of Footstepsinthesand take on the Henry Cecil-trained Arizona Jewel, Joviality from John Gosden’s yard and the Aidan O’Brien raider Amazing Beauty.
But Hanagan said: “I think she has been crying out for this step up in trip.
“She seems in great form and she should be right up there.”
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