Retirement beckons for Lola Showgirl following Group Three strike

Royal Ascot swansong unlikely after 19lb rise for Lingfield win.

Lola Showgirl is set to be retired following her Group Three success at Lingfield on Saturday.

Winner of the Kensington Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer, the five-year-old recorded her first victory at Pattern level when making all the running in the Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes.

A possible defence of her Royal Ascot crown was mooted as a potential swansong, but following a hefty rise in the ratings, trainer Dave Loughnane feels now is the time to draw stumps.

He said: “She’s gone up 19lb for winning on Saturday, so she is now rated 105 and I think that’s her now – she’ll probably retire.

“She’s in foal to Oasis Dream and it’s very much job done with her.”

While Lola Showgirl will not be on his team, the Shropshire-based trainer is still likely to be well represented at next month’s showpiece meeting in Berkshire.

Go Bears Go is a leading contender for the Commonwealth Cup, while in the last week Absolutelyflawless and Omniqueen have looked potential contenders for the Royal Ascot two-year-old races with victories at Chester and Ascot respectively.

Absolutelyflawless in the clear at Chester
Absolutelyflawless in the clear at Chester (Tim Goode/PA)

Loughnane, though, plans to make a final decision on their participation closer to the time.

He added: “I don’t want to go to Royal Ascot for a day out – I’d have to feel that they’re both capable of winning.

“Especially with Omniqueen, Amo Racing (owners) could have a lot of two-year-olds going to Royal Ascot and we don’t want to be running four or five of them against each other.

“There are plenty of other Group races around the same time. There’s a few races in Ireland and a few other options, so we’re leaving everything on the table at the moment.

“When it comes to making entries, we’ll sit down and go through everything and see who is the most suited to go there and who is the most suited to go elsewhere.”

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