Special Duty half-sister among Cheveley Park Stakes
In May Criquette Head-Maarek completed a clean sweep of the Newmarket Classics for French trainers and she is now preparing for a return in the autumn.
The victory for Special Duty in the 1000 Guineas followed on from the victory of Makfi for Mikel Delzangles in the 2000 Guineas the day before. It also completed the circle that Special Duty has started when she won the Electrolux Cheveley Park Stakes last October.
Head-Maarek has won the race four times – with Special Duty adding to the victories of Ma Biche (1982), Ravinella (1987) and Pas de Reponse (1996) – and puts the French trainer level with the record of Alec Taylor Jnr, who won with Maid of the Mist (1908), Maid of Corinth (1909), Bayuda (1918) and Miss Gadabout (1924).
She has three of the 65 entries for this year’s race, which is run on October 1st, and they include Exemplify, an unraced half-sister to Special Duty. Head-Maarek also has Helleborine, a full-sister to her Group One-winning sprinter African Rose, and a Dynaformer filly Starformer, whose dam Etoile Montante won the Prix de la Forêt for Head-Maarek and all three – like Special Duty - are home-bred by Prince Khalid Abdulla’s Juddmonte Farms.
“Exemplify is on course to make her debut at Deauville soon, although we have yet to finalise when she will run,” Head-Maarek said. “She looks a nice filly at the moment and she goes well in her work.
“I would say that she has more stamina than Special Duty and I would think that she will stay further in time, even at this stage of her career, and we might start her off over seven furlongs. She worked very nicely on Tuesday morning and I’m hopeful that she can become a nice prospect, but we’ll obviously know more about her after her debut.
“Helleborine won very easily first time out and she will hopefully run in a Listed race over seven furlongs at Deauville at the end of the month. African Rose showed plenty of speed in her races but I also get the impression that Helleborine will get further. Starformer is out of Etoile Montante, with whom I won the Prix de la Forêt. She’s the first of her produce that I have trained and, while the dam hasn’t done much as a broodmare yet, this filly gives me a nice feel and she might well start off at Deauville as well.
“It’s early days but we have made the entries and they are three nice fillies, all with top pedigrees. Newmarket has always been a special course for me and I love my visits to England, so hopefully one of them can make the journey over in October.”
When they arrive there may well be strong defence from Richard Hannon who has entered Memory, the current market leader for next season’s 1000 Guineas after a brace Group-race victories in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket’s July meeting.
Hannon could also be represented in the Group One colts’ equivalent run on the same day, the Shadwell Middle Park Stakes, which has a total of 55 entries. Such is his current strength in depth that the trainer has the options of Strong Suit, winner of the Group Two Coventry Stakes at the royal meeting, along with Libranno and King Torus, who also won Group Twos in the July and Superlative Stakes respectively at the July meeting.
And Hannon and the other British may wish to take solace from one fact. Head-Maarek does not have an entry for the Middle Park.
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