By Tom Frary
John Gosden again has a now-customary clutch of high-class prospects among his 3-year-old fillies in 2020 and Juddmonte's Franconia (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was the latest to join in when winning Saturdays Listed Abingdon Fillies' S. at Newbury in the style of a ready-made Oaks contender. Sent off the 7-4 favourite despite having only finished second in a seven-furlong novice at Chelmsford in November, the homebred travelled strongly in a share of third off the honest pace and when sent to the front passing the two-furlong pole by Frankie Dettori drew away to beat TDN Rising Star Cabaletta (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) by 3 3/4 lengths, with Chamade (GB) (Sepoy {Aus}) 1 3/4 lengths behind in third.
“She has come here from finishing second at Chelmsford last year so it is all a bit of a jump, but we will see how she takes it all as she is very young in her mind,” trainer John Gosden said of the bay half-sister to the G1 Nassau S. winner Winsili (GB) (Dansili {GB}). “Her sister was pretty lively and she is the same. There is plenty of ability there, we will just see how we play it. You don't normally go from a second at Chelmsford to a listed. We have just missed those two races prior to anything big. She has plenty of ability, but she is highly-strung.” Despite obvious talk of the G1 Epsom Oaks afterwards, her handler was keen to play that down for now. “The ability is there as her sister Winsili won a Nassau, but we have just got to be sensible how we handle her. I think the [G3] Musidora [at York July 9] would be a logical step rather than launching straight into the deep end.”
Franconia is now the third black-type winner for Winter Sunrise (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) after the aforementioned Winsili and the Norwegian listed scorer Backcountry (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). The second dam is the G3 Prix d'Aumale runner-up Winter Solstice (GB) (Unfuwain), who produced the G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Ice Blue (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and is kin to four stakes winners headed by the GI Manhattan H. hero Meteor Storm (GB) (Bigstone {Ire}) and the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic scorer Polish Summer (GB) (Polish Precedent). The third dam Hunt the Sun (GB) (Rainbow Quest) is a full-sister to the multiple group 1-winning pair Raintrap (GB) and Sunshack (GB), while this is also the family of the G1 Prix Royal-Oak winner Ice Breeze (GB) (Nayef) and multiple group 2winner Snow Sky (GB) (Nayef). Winter Sunrise's 2-year-old and yearling are full-siblings to Franconia, with the former a filly named Fine Lace (GB) and the latter a colt.
Saturday, Newbury, Britain
BRITISH STALLION STUDS EBF/MANSIONBET ABINGDON FILLIES' S.-Listed, £30,500, Newbury, 6-13, 3yo, f, 10fT, 2:05.11, gd.
1–FRANCONIA (GB), 126, f, 3, by Frankel%20(GB)#tot">Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Winter Sunrise (GB), by Pivotal (GB)
2nd Dam: Winter Solstice (GB), by Unfuwain
3rd Dam: Hunt The Sun (GB), by Rainbow Quest
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £17,297. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $23,915. *1/2 to Winsili (GB) (Dansili (GB)), G1SW-Eng, $229,599; and Backcountry (GB) (Oasis Dream (GB)), SW-Nor, $114,134.
2–Cabaletta (GB), 126, f, 3, Mastercraftsman (Ire)–Allegretto (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). O/B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-Roger Varian. £6,558.
3–Chamade (GB), 126, f, 3, Sepoy (Aus)–Colima (Ire), by Authorized (Ire). O/B-Mr & Mrs David Aykroyd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. £3,282.
Margins: 3 3/4, 1 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 1.75, 3.00, 25.00.
Also Ran: Wonderful Tonight (Fr), Oriental Mystique (GB), Royal Nation (GB), Shatha. Scratched: Domino Darling (GB), Onassis (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result.
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