32Red Summer Stakes at York
Trainer Marco Botti is looking forward to running his improving filly March in the £60,000 32Red Summer Stakes at York on Friday.
Trainer Marco Botti is looking forward to running his improving filly March in the £60,000 32Red Summer Stakes at York on Friday.
The daughter of Dutch Art is one of 11 fillies and mares set to contest the Group 3 event run over six furlongs.
Owned by Al Asayl Bloodstock Ltd, March has won three of her six races to date.
She has run twice the season, winning a handicap at Windsor before producing a career best to be a fast-finishing second to Morawij in the Listed Scurry Stakes at Sandown.
She is stepping up in grade again on Friday but Botti hopes she can be competitive.
He said: “March is an improving filly. She ran a very good race at Sandown and I have been pleased with her since.
“I think five (furlongs) is probably her best trip but an easy six (furlongs) at York should be fine. She will like the fast ground and I hope she runs well.”
The likely favourite is the William Haggas-trained Roshdu Queen, winner of the Group 2 Lowther Stakes over course and distance last season en route to Group 1 success in the Cheveley Park Stakes.
She has yet to win this season but her recent fifth in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot was a terrific effort and a repeat of that performance would make her very hard to beat.
Haggas is also represented by Restiadargent. The four-year-old, who was previously trained in France, has some top-class form in the book, most notably her third behind Black Caviar in last year’s Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The seven-race card on Friday, worth over £140,000, gets underway at 1.50pm.
Saturday’s fixture is one of York’s most popular days of the year with the feature event being the 54th running of the John Smith’s Cup, worth £150,000.