Harry Eustace has revealed to Grosvenor Sport the latest plans for his quartet of Royal Ascot runners, including his Group 1-winning pair Docklands and Time For Sandals.
The Grosvenor Sport ambassador had a stunning week at the Royal meeting, winning the Queen Anne and Commonwealth Cup as well as seeing La Botte place second in the Britannia and Divine Comedy finish fifth in the Ascot Stakes.
Now, with Ascot done and dusted, Eustace explained what's next for the team, beginning with Docklands:
"Docklands seems to have come out of winning the Queen Anne well. He's back and being ridden, and in all likelihood, he'll go to France for the Prix Jacques Le Marois in August. He obviously thrives over the straight mile, so Deauville ought to suit him, and we'll be building him up for a tilt at that.
"The obvious target beyond the Marois would be to head back to Ascot for the QEII on Champions Day. He does take his racing notably well, though, so there may be other races in between Deauville and Ascot for him.
"Having landed the Queen Anne, he obviously earned a berth into the Breeders' Cup Mile. That race wouldn't look to be his ideal conditions, but we'll have a chat with Terry (Henderson, Director of OTI Racing) and see how we feel about a trip to the U.S."
Time For Sandals has world at her feet after Commonwealth Cup glory
"Time For Sandals' victory in the Commonwealth Cup made last week the stuff of dreams and she's come out of the race super as well. There was chat about going for the July Cup after Ascot, but we deliberately didn't enter her for that. We thought backing up for it might be a bit too much for a three-year-old filly after such a big performance.
"I would think that the Flying Five at the Curragh or the Nunthorpe will be likely options, and the Haydock Sprint Cup would be something worth considering too. She obviously relished the quick ground at Ascot, which ought to be harder to find the longer the year goes on. No concrete plans have been made for her yet, but there should be plenty of nice targets to look forward to."
Australian Group 1 targets await Britannia second La Botte.
"La Botte has also come out of Ascot well. The Britannia had been the plan for a while, and of course it was a disappointment to see him get beat, but he ran his heart out and we couldn't have asked for more from him. In all likelihood he'll be aimed at an Australian spring campaign, so he's probably set for a bit of a mid-season break now.
"Before going Down Under, he'll probably have a run over seven furlongs or a mile, which we'll firm up nearer the time. We'd be looking at something like the Group 1 pair of the Epsom Handicap and Golden Eagle, but again, those plans are fairly fluid at the moment, and he's set for a break now."
"Legend" Divine Comedy set for further black type tilts
"Divine Comedy is just a legend. She ran a great race in the Ascot Stakes again and was a bit unlucky really. She has pulled up well and I haven't made firm plans for her yet. She does seem to let herself down on good-to-firm ground, but she typically seems to do it at Ascot. We're trying not to overdo things with her. She'll have plenty of options in handicaps and in black type races."
This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If there are any questions please contact the organization that produced the release.
