Marygate target for Primrose Ridge

Adam Morgan
May 2, 2022 10:19 am

Darryll Holland hoping exciting filly can book Royal Ascot ticket.

Impressive Beverley scorer Primrose Ridge is set set to put her Royal Ascot aspirations to the test in the Marygate Stakes at York next week.

The Darryll Holland-trained juvenile started her season with a second in the Brocklesby at Doncaster and had to settle for a silver medal once again at Redcar before opening her account in style on the Westwood.

Sent off the 7-4 favourite, the Amo Racing-owned daughter of Aclaim made every yard from a tricky draw to record a never-troubled seven-length success.

Attentions now turn to the Knavesmire for a Listed contest over five furlongs, a race Holland believes will give connections a good idea about the level of the two-year-old’s ability.

✅ Off the mark
8,000gns purchase Primrose Ridge (Aclaim) deservedly opens his account at the third time of asking in fine style at @Beverley_Races for @Rossaryan15, @amoracingltd & @HarratonCourt pic.twitter.com/qa0PHu6BOl

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 21, 2022

“She’s going to go for the Marygate at York, that’ll be the ideal race for her. She’s got plenty of dash, as you can see from the bad draw at Beverley. I was very happy with the way she won because she won with authority,” said Holland.

“Her run before that at Redcar was a non event because it just rained all night and she just couldn’t get her feet out of the ground, but the form has still worked out well.”

A trip to the Royal meeting appears to be on the cards for Primrose Ridge, with her trainer of the belief that her versatility could be an asset that opens up plenty of options.

Nottingham Races – Thursday June 10th — Trainer Darryll Holland is targeting the Marygate Stakes at York with his filly Primrose Hill (Simon Marper/PA)

He added: “We’ll take in York and then take it from there, whether it’ll be the Queen Mary or the Albany (at Royal Ascot).

“We still have to decide which is the better option or which could be the easier race, although at Ascot there is never normally such a thing.

“But she’s not short of speed and she’s not short of stamina. It’s not like she’s one dimensional and she’s an out and out speedster and therefore it’s Queen Mary, so we have a choice, which is always better.”