Sir Michael Stoute’s Veracious is one of a number of top class fillies in line to take on the four-time Group 1-winner, Laurens, in the Group 1 Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse on Saturday, 6th October.
Following yesterday’s scratching stage, no less than eight different individual Group 1 winners were among the 25 fillies still engaged in this £250,000 contest, which is run over a straight mile and is the penultimate leg in the Mile category of the 2018 QIPCO British Champions Series.
They are led by the Karl Burke-trained Laurens, whose connections revealed was targeting the Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot after she landed the Group 1 Matron Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Laurens had already won the bet365 Fillies’ Mile over this course and distance last October and two top-level French races, the Prix de Diane and the Prix Saint-Alary.
Other entries include the winners of both the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, Billesdon Brook, and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches [French 1000 Guineas], Teppal.
Irish Champion Trainer Aidan O’Brien has six possible runners and though his contingent includes four Group 1 scorers (Rhododendron, Athena, Happily and Clemmie) its most potent threat could come from the late-developing I Can Fly, easy winner of the Group 2 Boomerang Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Stoute last landed this event with the Cheveley Park Stud home-bred filly, Integral, successful in 2014 and runner-up in both 2013 and 2015.
Now he has another strong candidate in the red, white and blue Cheveley Park silks in the shape of Veracious, who suffered an interrupted preparation prior to finishing third in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot in June. She broke her Pattern Race duck in the Group 3 Atalanta Stakes at Sandown earlier this month.
Chris Richardson, Managing Director of Cheveley Park Stud, owner-breeders of Veracious, said:
“All being well, the Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes is the next intended target for Veracious.”
“The Atalanta Stakes did not go according to plan for her as there was no pace and she got no cover – Ryan Moore was quite uncomfortable through much of the race – but her class allowed her to overcome those obstacles.”
“We were delighted that she won and she has come out of it really well. Hopefully, now that she has five races under her belt, the penny will start to drop and she will begin to learn what racing is all about.”
“A small setback precluded her from lining up in the Guineas and then it was a bit of a rush to get her to Royal Ascot, where we knew she would be a bit keen and fresh and hence we were forced to make the running with her, which was not ideal. She is still progressing and whatever she achieves this year, she will be even better next year.”
“She is probably at her best on good ground or faster and there is every chance that we will get that again at Newmarket.”
“I was impressed with Laurens last weekend but she has done a fair amount of racing while Veracious is potentially on the way up and there is no better man than Sir Michael Stoute to get a filly like her to peak at the end of the season.”
