Mawj in good form ahead of 1000 Guineas challenge

Mawj will take her chance in the Qipco 1000 Guineas on Sunday week after showing Saeed bin Suroor all the right signs since returning from Dubai.

The Exceed And Excel filly, who won the Group Two Duchess of Cambridge on Newmarket’s July course in mid-summer, was last seen in Britain finishing a close-up third to Lezoo in the Cheveley Park on the Rowley Mile course in September.

While she tackled six furlongs exclusively in her two-year-old career on these shores, she was upped in trip with success when shipped to Dubai over the winter.

Mawj duly won the seven-furlong Jumeirah Fillies Classic and then scooted to an eight-and-a-half-length success in the Jumeirah Fillies Guineas on her first try over a mile.

Though not the biggest, she has proven herself to be all heart in winning four of her seven career starts, and she is as short as 12-1 for the mile fillies’ Classic.

Bin Suroor said: “She is good, has been working well and in good form. She will run in the Guineas.

“She is a nice filly and a proven filly. She has shown plenty of speed, but she stayed a mile well in Dubai and now we will give her a chance in the Guineas.

“It is a very tough race, but we have to give her a chance and see how she goes, as she has earned that chance.

“She has grown a little, but not much. That is why we gave her a break between races. Two-year-olds, when you give them a break, they generally grow and strengthen.”