3 minute read
Trainer Ed McMahon is confident Winning Express can get back to winning ways in the £60,000 Group Three Japan Racing Association Sceptre Stakes over seven furlongs on the second day of the Ladbrokes St Leger Festival.
The three-year-old daughter of Camacho was beaten three quarters of a length by Royal Ascot heroine Annecdote in the Group Three Oak Tree Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on August 2, having scored impressively in a Listed contest at Warwick in June.
Winning Express has proved herself one of the leading fillies of her generation on more than one occasion, finishing fourth behind Sky Lantern in the fillies' Classic, the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, and second in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket in September, 2012.
McMahon reported: "Winning Express ran well at Goodwood and was probably beaten by a better filly on the day, but we will see.
"We are running against Annecdote again with a 3lb pull in the weights and I don't think the competition is any harder than it was at Goodwood.
"If you wanted to look at statistics on paper, the 3lb is probably enough to give us the upper hand, but it all depends on how things pan out on the day.
"We are entitled to be hopeful and I'm not frightened of anything, but things can go wrong in a race - you can get trapped in pockets - so I'm just looking for a good run.
"At this time of year, especially because she wants decent ground, you are running out of options and I haven't really got any more targets after this race. I had thought about going to Keeneland, but it's quite an expense to get out there and she is only a three-year-old. That's on the backburner anyway."
Winning Express, with Graham Lee up for the first time, will clash with nine rivals, including dual Group Three scorer Maureen and French 1,000 Guineas fourth Zurigha, both trained by Richard Hannon, and last year's Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes winner The Gold Cheongsam.
A total of 10 fillies and mares will also go to post for the feature race on DFS Ladies' Day, the £90,000 Group Two DFS Park Hill Stakes (3.15pm) over an extended 14 furlongs, the same distance as the Ladbrokes St Leger
The field includes Investec Oaks third The Lark, one of two runners for Newmarket trainer Michael Bell, Seal Of Approval, who completed a hat-trick of wins in a 12-furlong Listed event at Newbury on August 4, and Group Three Lilly Langtry Stakes third Alta Lilea.
A field of 22 will line up in the Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes (2.40pm), while some more future stars could be on show in the £12,000 Crownhotel-Bawtry.com EBF Maiden (3.50pm, 11 runners). The mile contest has thrown up some top-class performers in recent seasons, including dual Group One hero Nathaniel, 2009 Ladbrokes St Leger runner-up Kite Wood, and 2009 DFS Park Hill Stakes winner The Miniver Rose.
The action gets underway at 1.40pm with the £30,000 EBF Carrie Red Fillies' Nursery (14 runners) and concludes with the £15,000 Download The Ladbrokes Bingo App Handicap (4.25pm, 22 runners) over six furlongs and the £25,000 DFS Handicap (5.00pm, 14 runners) over a mile and quarter.