Fellowes keen on Sceptre claims for Onassis

PA Sport Reporters
September 6, 2020 2:15 pm

‘Seven furlongs at Doncaster could be right up her street’.

Onassis will try to add a Group Three to her CV in Wednesday’s bet365 Sceptre Fillies’ Stakes at Doncaster.

The three-year-old secured Royal Ascot gold in the Sandringham Handicap back in June and subsequently went on to Listed glory in France, with both wins coming over a mile.

However, her two attempts in Group Three company have yielded no joy, finishing fourth in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on Derby day while Onassis was only seventh in the Atalanta at Sandown on her most recent outing.

Her trainer Charlie Fellowes believes seven furlongs on Town Moor could be just the ticket to revitalise her fortunes.

He said: “Doncaster is very much the plan. Things just didn’t work out at all at Sandown – they went very steady and nothing really got into it from the back of the field.

“I’m not convinced she’s a true miler. I know she won the Sandringham at Royal Ascot, but she was carrying no weight that day and we rode her cold, then when she won a Listed race in France they went very slow early, as they tend to do over there.

“This filly just has so much speed and the straight seven furlongs at Doncaster could be right up her street. It looks a good race.

“This her Oaks – I’ve had my eye on this race ever since she won in France. I told Hayley (Turner) not to be too hard on her at Sandown if she wasn’t going to be in the first three, and good ground or soft, it all comes the same to her.”