Inspiral giving the right signals ahead of Queen Anne return

Brilliant filly pleased John Gosden in gallop on the July course.

Inspiral limbered up for her return to action at Royal Ascot next week with a racecourse gallop on Newmarket’s July course on Tuesday morning.

Unbeaten in four juvenile starts, the Cheveley Park Stud-owned filly did not make her three-year-old debut until running out a brilliant winner of the Coronation Stakes 12 months ago and will once again make her reappearance at the Royal meeting, this time in the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes.

Following her scintillating success in the Coronation, Inspiral went on to suffer a shock defeat in the Falmouth Stakes before bouncing back to claim a third Group One win in the Prix Jacques le Marois in France.

With last month’s Lockinge at Newbury coming too soon, the Frankel filly has not been seen in finishing down the field in the QEII on Champions Day at Ascot in October, but trainer John Gosden expressed his satisfaction after seeing her pull comfortably clear of her work companion under Frankie Dettori.

“We have been very happy with her recently and she enjoyed her work there. It was nice to get her back on the track,” said the Clarehaven handler.

“A racecourse gallop was part of the plan and it is a big help heading into Royal Ascot without having had a run.

“She has taken her time to come to hand. We had a cold wet spring then we had a lot of cold, dry weather with winds from the north east off the North Sea. A lot of these fillies just haven’t flourished, that is all.”

While Gosden is taking some encouragement from the fact Inspiral proved herself capable of producing a big performance first time out last season, he admits she has more on her plate this time around, with the Breeders’ Cup Mile and Lockinge winner Modern Games among her likely rivals.

John Gosden will saddle Inspiral in the Queen Anne Stakes next week
John Gosden will saddle Inspiral in the Queen Anne Stakes next week (Mike Egerton/PA)

He added: “We were hoping to go to the Lockingem but it didn’t quite happen so we will go straight into the Queen Anne. We did it last year going into the Coronation Stakes.

“It does give us confidence going there knowing that we have done this before. It is like all these fillies though – they will tell you when they are ready to run, you don’t tell them.

“Last year we were just taking on three-year-old fillies. This year we are taking on proven older horses like the Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, so it is a much bigger test.

“It would be very exciting if she did win. We just want to get her there in good order and at the moment we would be very pleased with her.”

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