Fifteen Poised For 1000 Guineas

A field of 15 fillies will go to post for Sunday's G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, with Khalid Abdullah's unbeaten TDN Rising Star Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) drawn in six as Jason Watson looks for a first Classic victory in the saddle. Chief opposition to the G1 Fillies' Mile winner comes in the form of Stonethorn Stud Farms' G1 Cheveley Park S. scorer Millisle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), the sole representative of the Jessie Harrington stable who will break from stall 11, and Coolmore's G1 Moyglare Stud S. heroine Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who is the only runner for Aidan O'Brien after he withdrew Peaceful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and So Wonderful (War Front). Love is drawn in 14, while Frankie Dettori will ride Lord Lloyd-Webber's Lingfield novice winner Shimmering (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) who is drawn wide in one for the John Gosden stable. That leaves Mickael Barzalona to take over the mount on Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's G2 Queen Mary S. and G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. scorer Raffle Prize (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}), who Dettori was pencilled in for and that potential pace-setter is in 13.

Quadrilateral has already upstaged Love over this course and distance in the Fillies' Mile, having scored by nine lengths in a seven-furlong conditions event that has thrown up smart fillies in the past at Newbury in September. If successful, the homebred relative of Three Valleys (Diesis {GB}) will be providing Roger Charlton with a first win in this Classic. He is typically understated as the race nears.

“We've had the driest May on record, which has not made life easy,” Charlton said. “Ideally, it would have been nice to have a prep race but otherwise she looks really well and is in good heart. She's a big strong filly, much like a colt really, and needs plenty of work. I'd expect her to improve for the race and I'd expect her to stay beyond a mile. This weekend will be the first time she would have run on quick ground, so that will be interesting.”

   Charlie Appleby may have the hot favourite for the previous day's G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas, but in the fillies' Classic he has to rely on an outsider in Summer Romance (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). Labelled a 'TDN Rising Star' on her winning debut at Yarmouth in mid-June, the grey justified that with a six-length success in the Listed Empress Fillies' S. on the July Course here later that month. Subsequently disappointing when sixth in Ascot's G3 Princess Margaret S. in July and when third in the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. at Salisbury in September, she steps beyond six furlongs for the first time and trainer Charlie Appleby is hoping she can regain her spark. “She's one filly who I'd have liked to seen in a trial, although she's done very well through the winter and her homework has been pleasing us,” he said. “She was disappointing at Ascot, but we put a line through that as she got upset in the preliminaries and it was soft ground. When William got off her at Salisbury he said she'd gone weak and so we put her away.”