Chantilly return mapped out for Got To Love A Grey

Molly Hunter
March 21, 2024 5:57 pm

Listed winner will shoot for Prix Sigy glory next month.

Karl Burke’s Got To Love A Grey has another Chantilly start pencilled in after a taking victory in the Listed Prix Ronde de Nuit.

The three-year-old, who is by Dark Angel, was twice a winner as a juvenile and picked up early black type when landing the Listed Marygate Fillies’ Stakes at York last May.

She was then a creditable fifth in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, but met with a setback after that run and therefore it was her last start of 2023.

At Chantilly on Monday she returned to action after a 271-day absence from the track, defeating previous Group and Listed winners in heavy ground to prevail by a length and a half.

Got To Love A Grey (left) winning the Marygate (Mike Egerton/PA)

That performance was over a five-and-a-half-furlong trip and the filly is now booked in for a course-and-distance return as the Group Three Sigy is intended to be her next outing.

“It was a great training performance as she was off since the Queen Mary, she had a minor injury that was nothing serious and just needed time,” said Mike Prince of owners Middleham Park Racing.

“We always had that race in mind to get her back ready, it’s good Listed form for a filly and she didn’t carry a penalty for her Marygate win, so it seemed an ideal starting point.

“She was gutsy, it was pretty heavy ground but she’d won on soft at Nottingham so that didn’t seem to stop her.

Listed success for @karl_burke in France! 🇬🇧🥇🇫🇷
The trainer based in Yorkshire takes the Prix Ronde de Nuit with GOT TO LOVE A GREY (GB) for @MprUpdates.
🎓 @Robsonadeaguiar yearling purchase from @BartonStud1 at @Tattersalls1766 pic.twitter.com/papdA2A4WJ
— GBRI (@GBRI_UK) March 18, 2024

“The plan was that if she won or ran well then we’d go back for the Sigy, I know Karl’s got quite a few for the race – he’s pretty well stocked for sprint fillies!”

Beyond the Prix Sigy, connections are likely to embark on a fact-finding mission as to the filly’s ideal trip as her pedigree would suggest she will be effective over longer distances.

“It will be an interesting one, I think she’s versatile ground wise so what we need to find out is what her optimum trip is,” Prince explained.

“She shaped on Monday like she’d certainly get six furlongs and her pedigree suggests that she might actually get seven and potentially a mile.

“You’d say at this point she probably shows too much speed for a mile, but after the Sigy we’ll probably step her up to six and explore black type races – it’ll be Group races now as she’ll be carrying Listed penalties.

“We could try her over further later in the season but if she goes well over six, then it could be a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

“In the Sigy she’ll be up a notch in terms of her opposition and that’ll tell us what route we should go. If she were to win it would be Group Twos and Group Ones, but we’ll take it from there. There should be lots of fun times ahead.”