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Highfield Princess jumps back into King George Qatar Stakes with a plomb
Jockey Oisin Murphy rides Shaquille (L) to victory over Ryan Moore on Little Big Bear (R) in the Commonwealth Cup on the fourth day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting in Ascot, west of London, on June 23, 2023.
Winning was what Highfield Princess had become accustomed to. She began her campaign briefly on any surface, before rapidly transforming from a handicapper to one of the craziest best sprinters in Europe - a reputation she cemented with three cherry picks ups over a variety of trips, as well as a fourth in the Breeders' Cup.
A layer of expectation was then thrust upon her bonny shoulders, which came into fruition at Glorious Goodwood on Saturday. Ridden by Jason Hart 4-9, Highfield Princess galloped away from White Lavender (Colin Lee 28-1), Raasel (James Doyle 22-1), and, Makarova, over 1,000m in 58:9/10.
Trainer, John Quinn, had enormous faith in his girl, even though at 2-years-old, she was really backward. The King George Qatar Stakes tees her off well for the Coolmore Nunthorpe, Flying Five, Prix l'Abbaye, and, Breeders' Cup Turf.
It sounds like too much, but Highfield Princess thrives on sprinting. It's the reason she gets out of bed every morning.
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The other main feature, saw It was not lost on connections of Epictetus (Frankie Dettori 6-1), that he is a son of Kingman.
Not wasting an opportunity to execute what might be one of his final flying dismounts at Goodwood, Frankie insisted the drop to a mile had helped his capable Epictetus secure victory in the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes that set Baaeed on his way to super stardom.
It also allowed John Gosden's son, Thady, a trip down memory lane to remember the electric miler Kingman, who has now established himself as a fine sire. Epictetus came home strongly under perfect judgement to upset 4/6 Nostrum with Ryan Moore, in the G3 Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes. The winner followed front-running Nostrum and, once the gap came, his finishing kick proved too much for the leader. There was a length between the duo at the line, with Galeron (14/1) a length further back in third. Dead ground caught out Nostrum towards the end.
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Sunday's Arc Prix Maurice de Gheest, after suffering a stone bruise, will not have the pleasure of Little Big Bear's appearance. The son of No Nay Never, trained by Aidan O'Brien, was supplemented for the Deauville at a cost of €27,360, but he was not among the ten horses declared to run on Friday morning.
He had failed to beat a rival in the July Cup when last seen, trailing winner Shaquille by 22 lengths, and the heavy ground at Deauville would have been the most testing he's encountered in his nine starts. Little Big Bear's next entry is in the Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint at the Curragh. He will also take on Highfield Princess in the Nunthorpe.
