Molecomb mission for York scorer The Platinum Queen

Middleham Park filly set for Goodwood date.

The Platinum Queen will return to Group level for the Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood after an impressive novice victory at York on Friday.

The Richard Fahey-trained filly was a comfortable winner of the William Hill Play Responsibly Irish EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes on the Knavesmire, defeating black-type rival and 8-11 favourite Yahsat by three and three-quarter lengths under Oisin Orr.

Prior to that the bay was 13th of 21 in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, before which she won a Ripon novice in good style in early June.

The Platinum Queen was a 57,000 guineas purchase from Tattersalls breeze-up sales and is owned by Middleham Park Racing, whose representative Tom Palin said: “She was always a very fast filly, at the breeze-ups she clocked a very good time. Her work at home had always been pretty quick, she got the job done nicely on her debut at Ripon.

“I think that form has been franked subsequently, the second (Shandy Star) has come out and won the Spindrifter conditions race at Pontefract.

“The Queen Mary didn’t quite go to plan. She used up energy at an uneconomic time, I think she clocked the fastest furlong of any filly in that race in her second furlong, so she made up ground too quickly.

“We were always hopeful that she would be able to bounce back. It was Richard who rang me up on Wednesday morning after she’d done a piece of work and said ‘we just need to go to York, she’s in great heart, she’s in good form, I think she’ll go there and take a fair bit of beating’.

“Obviously Karl Burke’s horse (Yahsat) brought a bit of course and distance form, second in the Marygate, so I was a little bit tentative but the last time Richard rang me so confident was when he said Ventura Rebel should go for a conditions race at Ascot that he duly won – so I listened.

“York is a speed-favouring track and she’s a very speedy filly. She’s a bundle of speed, the key has just been keeping a lid on and managing it effectively. I think we’re just getting there with her now.”

The Group Three Molecomb at Goodwood is next on the agenda for the filly, with higher-grade contests not discounted later in the campaign should she continue to impress.

“After the race we had a regroup about where we should go and I think we’re going to head to the Molecomb, the Group Three at Goodwood over five furlongs,” said Palin.

“Fillies have an OK record in there – Liberty Beach of John Quinn’s is the most recent filly to win the race, so they can do it. We were going to go for the Alice Keppel, a conditions race, but I think she’s earnt another crack at black type after that performance, both visually and time-wise it was impressive.

“We’ll head to the Molecomb with her and then probably something, if we don’t win with her, like the St Hugh’s at Newbury or back at York for the Roses Stakes.

“That’s the mid-term plan for her, whether we step up in into bigger and better company later on, who knows? We might think about sticking an Abbaye entry in given that’s not closed, we could do that if she continues on the upward curve we believe she can do.”

As a two-year-old, The Platinum Queen has plenty of racing ahead of her and Palin is hopeful she will be a force to be reckoned with once she has matured into next season.

“She’s not just a little filly, she’s a nice, big horse with a bit of scope,” he said.

“We would be managing her campaign this year with next year in mind, she’s quite an athletic filly. She’s the sort who could do quite well for a winter, get her out into the paddock and she’ll come back a much stronger filly next year.

“I wouldn’t be afraid, if she progresses next year, of taking on the boys and a more senior cohort at the start of next year. She’s all speed and clearly quite classy as well.”

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