Francis-Henri Graffard will be double handed in the Fillies And Mares race at British Champions Day at Ascot next week with Verry Elleegant and Sweet Lady going to post.
The French trainer has declared that both will aim to grab some of the £500,000 prize money up for grabs in the Group One contest over one-and-a-half miles.
For Verry Elleegant it represents another chance to get her career on track in Europe. The seven-year-old has a Melbourne Cup to her name and has a number of notable wins in Group One races in Australia.
However, her form has yet to transfer into Europe and she produced a poor run on her first start for leading French trainer Graffard in the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville. She was last of seven in Normandy and well beaten by Frankie Dettori's Aristia.
She has improved since then with a third in the Prix Foy on soft ground at Lonchamp last month. The Jomara Bloodstock Ltd-owned horse led with two and a half furlongs to go but could not quicken and was narrowly headed.
Her latest run in the Qatar Prix de Royallieu at Longchamp over the weekend saw here beaten by five lengths on very soft ground.
But Francis-Henri Graffard says that events conspired against his filly in Paris and she will go to Ascot to try and gain some black type in the British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes.
"Verry Elleegant will come to Ascot. She was very unlucky in the way the race was run at Longchamp, where there was no tempo and she was boxed in on the rail and pulled hard. She basically didn't have a race," said Graffard.
"It's hard to see such a fantastic mare beaten like that and it's upsetting too, but I felt that the race was over for her at the first bend when I saw where we were.
"Everything went against her and it's best forgotten, but she's come out of it well. She's happy and she tries, and hopefully things will go her way on British Champions Day."
Graffard is also planning to saddle Sweet Lady in the same Group One contest. The four-year-old made all under Gregory Benoist and stayed on in the Group One Qatar Prix Vermeille last month to take the top prize.
"Sweet Lady will also run and she's in top form. We decided to avoid Arc weekend and focus on the Fillies And Mares," added Graffard.
