Prescott hoping for classic double at Curragh
The daughter of Singspiel won the Prix de Diane Hermes over an extended mile and a quarter at Chantilly and now steps up to a mile and a half at the Curragh on Sunday.
“I thought she got the trip well in the Diane and nothing was gaining on her. Chris Richardson, who manages the Cheveley Park Stud, seems to think she’ll stay on pedigree and he’s normally right. I hope she does,” Prescott told At The Races.
“Where the pace comes from will be crucial. I expect Aidan O’Brien’s team will want a strong gallop. Their filly (Alexandrova) stays well so I think it will be a good gallop.
“If I was Aidan I’d be worried we might have too much speed. We’ve got a chance and if you look at the French Oaks nothing is making ground on her from behind. She came out of the race very well and I haven’t had to hurry her one bit to get her ready for Sunday.
“We all know that all horses say no in the end after a lot of hard races. She’s had three hard races in Group Ones and maybe that will start to show either physically or mentally, but it is not apparent at the moment.”
Her five rivals include Alexandrova and Rising Cross, who were first and second in the Vodafone Oaks.
Rising Cross has since finished unplaced in the Italian Oaks, but her trainer John Best reports her to be in fine form. He said: “I was hoping Alexandrova would run and frighten a few off. It has done to a certain extent.
“Our filly’s in great form, she’s come back from Italy fine.
“It’s tough. At home you wouldn’t say she was a Group One horse but she’s proved it. We’ve got to take our chances when we can. I hope she can prove herself on Sunday.
“She’s working really well and everything’s fine. She travels well when you go anywhere like this so I’m hoping she’ll run her race and hopefully Alexandrova may be on a bad day.”
