Three top fillies to fight out Cheveley Park Stakes

The grand final of the three-day Cambridgeshire meeting on Sept 26 will be all about the juveniles.

Both the Cheveley Park Stakes and Middle Park Stakes are high-octane Group 1 2YO events over 1,200m with the same purse of £275,000 (S$465,000).

This year’s renewals have both drawn small but select fields, but the more mouth-watering contest has to come from the fillies in the Cheveley, especially rising stars Sun Goddess, Senorita Bonita and Libertango.

The favourite will be Coolmore’s Sun Goddess who has strung up five wins in seven starts and will be gunning for a fifth win on the bounce this Saturday, as well as a seventh success in this race for her trainer Aidan O’Brien.

Two of the Sioux Nation filly’s wins came at Group 1 level, first in the Phoenix Stakes (1,200m) when she smashed Folsom Blues – who went on to slay his rivals in the Group 1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (1,400m) one month later – at home at The Curragh on Aug 9, followed one month later by the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the same course, but over 1,400m.

Senorita Bonita was also impressive when she beat the boys in France, in the Group 1 Prix Morny (1,200m) in Deauville on Aug 23, but it can be argued that the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Starspangledbanner filly effectively only beat a pacemaker in 150-1 shot Carry The Flag.

She does boast a win over the same course and distance as the Cheveley among her other two victories, but she is nowhere near as talented as Sun Goddess, even if Simon Crisford remains hopeful.

Godolphin’s former racing manager saw the Cheveley Park Stakes as a tough follow-up to the Prix Morny, but even if she is outsmarted by Sun Goddess, he may have other plans over further for the Victorious Forever-owned filly.

“She’s got an electric turn of foot. She’s a proper filly, and she will now face Sun Goddess and Libertango in the Cheveley Park for what will be one of the highlights of the autumn season,” said Crisford.

“I think she can be a classic filly eventually. She was by a mare (Belicious) who was by Ruler Of The World, it’s a staying family.

“Physically, she looks like a sprinter but next year, we can definitely try her over a mile.”

Interestingly, the George Boughey-trained Libertango is the one who denied Sun Goddess six straight successive wins when she got the better of her in the Group 3 Albany Stakes (1,200m) at Royal Ascot on June 19.

In Sun Goddess’s defence, though, she may have been beaten by the draw in 17.

Whether the No Nay Never three-time winner can put another dent on Sun Goddess’s record remains to be seen, but it may be a different kettle of fish this time.

Moonrise has done nothing wrong in four starts for trainer Andrew Balding, bagging three wins, including two Group 3s at Ascot and Kempton.

For what it is worth, the Churchill filly does not deserve to be a 22-1 shot but neither is she going to finish second unless two of the three top fancies misfire.

While the boys’ event lacks the dazzle of that of their female counterparts, it is still replete with quality.

Godolphin’s Inner City Blues was installed as the 7-4 top-elect after O’Brien did not declare ante-post favourite Great Barrier Reef.

The Blue Point colt has won two from two, including the Group 2 July Stakes (1,200m) at Newmarket on July 9.

He is a powerful colt who will be hard to peg back in the last 200m, even if he has not raced for 79 days. Fitness should not be a problem for Charlie Appleby’s horses.

O’Brien still saddles Marco Polo and Confucius, but they also look safely held, even by other contenders like the Clive Cox-trained Royal Ascot winner Orthodox (Group 2 Norfolk Stakes over 1,000m) and Ireland’s unbeaten Push The Boat Out.