One year on from annexing the G1 1000 Guineas with Miss France (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), 26-times French Champion trainer Andre Fabre is out to land a repeat victory with High Celebrity (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) on Sunday 3 May. High Celebrity is one of 29 overseas-trained hopes among the 63 entries for the £410,000 Group 1 contest which closed on Tuesday.
“High Celebrity has done well over the winter and I am happy with her, she was already well developed as a 2-year-old but she has put on weight,” Fabre said. “She had a rest at a stud farm and has been back with me for a month and a half,” the conditioner added. “We are aiming her at Newmarket and the plan is to run her at Maisons-Laffitte in the G3 Prix Imprudence, the same prep race that we used for Miss France. It fits in nicely to her training programme as it is a full month before the Guineas.” Fabre continued, “She was a bit surprised by the undulations when she finished third in the Cheveley Park Stakes and her jockey could never really get her on the bridle. But the experience of the Rowley Mile will have done her good and I am confident that she will handle it better next time.” The master of Chantilly has also given G3 Prix Thomas Bryon scorer Alea Iacta (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) an entry for the Newmarket classic, but indicated that she was more likely to stay in France.
G2 Lowther S. winner Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), and G2 Queen Mary S. heroine Anthem Alexander (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), are the two fillies High Celebrity chased home in the Cheveley Park S. and the trio could clash again in the 1000 Guineas. Outside of Anthem Alexander, Ireland has three more strong 1000 Guineas candidates in G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who took the G1 Fillies' Mile over course and distance, and Godolphin's Lucida (Ire) (Shamardal), who finished fifth in the Fillies' Mile but had earlier made a big impression when landing the G2 Rockfel S.
The fillies' classic could also witness the presence of American raider Sunset Glow (Exchange Rate). Trained by Wesley Ward, Sunset Glow finished second in the G3 Royal Albany S. at Royal Ascot on her previous British trip and subsequently returned home to notch a Grade 1 success in the Del Mar Debutante S. prior to finishing second to Lady Eli (Divine Park) in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
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