Newmarket will pull out all the stops for what is scheduled to be Frankie Dettori’s final weekend at the track but amid all the fanfare the Oct. 13 Fillies’ Mile (G1) also marks a significant milestone for fledgling trainer Ollie Sangster, who saddles his first runner in group 1 company.
Sangster, previously an assistant to top U.S. trainer Wesley Ward, has sent out 11 winners since making his training debut in April and has already muscled his way into the major league as warm favorite Shuwari bids to go one better than her Rockfel Stakes (G2) second two weeks ago.
While the listed winner was unable to reel in Carla’s Way at Newmarket, she did get the better of the reopposing Ylang Ylang and is reunited with Tom Marquand as she steps up to a mile for the first time.
“It’s great to have a chance in a race like this and we’re really hopeful she can run well,” Sangster said.
“We were very happy with her second in the Rockfel as the way the race was run meant it didn’t really suit someone coming from the back. She ran a nice race.
“There’s a mixed bag of runners here with plenty of talent but I suppose we have the best form in the field. She’s won on soft but with this step up in trip I wouldn’t want it to be too soft. We’ve had a lot of rain at the track, though, so I suspect it’s going to be slow.”
John and Thady Gosden, who have claimed the last two runnings with Inspiral and Commissioning , are absent from the group 1 contest but Dettori will be looking to strike with Ambiente Amigo for the jockey’s long-standing friends, the Gredley family.
The daughter of Postponed has won her last two starts by a combined distance of 13 1/2 lengths and will be Michael Bell’s first runner in the race since 2018, when he finished third with Pretty Pollyanna.
“Bill (Gredley) is a good friend of mine and was my neighbor for 15 years and I’m good friends with his son Tim too,” Dettori said.
“He approached me a month ago and said since it was my last year we should try to win a group 1 together, so this is one last throw of the dice with them. They’ve been good supporters of mine and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve watched her win her last two races easily, including over a mile last time out, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Leave feedback about this