Desert Flower and Lake Victoria poised for Classic showdown

Charlie Appleby is struggling to find any negatives ahead of Desert Flower’s bid for glory in the Betfred 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday.

The daughter of Night Of Thunder carried all before as a juvenile, rounding off an unbeaten four-race campaign with a demolition job over the Guineas course and distance in the Fillies’ Mile.

Having blown away work watchers with a sparkling racecourse gallop at last month’s Craven meeting, Desert Flower is favourite to provide her trainer with a first victory in the first fillies’ Classic of the season and confidence in the camp appears high.

“She’s in great order, she’s done everything that’s been asked of her and has wintered well,” Appleby said at Newmarket on Thursday.

“Everyone got a chance to see her here when we galloped her. Visually she galloped very well and most importantly she came out of it in good order and came forward for it.

“She looks, on paper and what we’ve seen of her, uncomplicated. The ground looks like it’s going to be on the quick side and it doesn’t look like that should be a negative anyway.

“She’s been on the track, she’s encountered the dip and I’m sure on Sunday we might see that coming into the top of the dip she’s under the pump, but as soon as she hits the rising ground she’s away.

“If she can repeat what she did last year we’ll be very happy.”

Another top-class filly who has yet to taste defeat is Aidan O’Brien’s Lake Victoria, who won each of her five starts at two including a hat-trick of Group One wins in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, the Cheveley Park and at the Breeders’ Cup.

O’Brien voiced concerns over whether his Frankel filly would be ready to return at Newmarket earlier this spring, but she has won her race against time to make it to Headquarters.

“The plan with her was to go to the Curragh on Monday for the Athasi, but she came so quick in the last two weeks – she can do that,” said O’Brien.

“Obviously the plan was the Athasi, but they changed the distance from seven furlongs to a mile so we thought if she was going to run over a mile first time out we might as well do it in the Guineas.

“She’ll come forward plenty but she’s in good form, we’d certainly never had one do what she did last year, win Group Ones over six and seven furlongs and a mile.”

The Ger Lyons-trained Red Letter was not beaten far when fourth behind Lake Victoria in the Moyglare in September and takes her on again over the Rowley Mile.

Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owner-breeders Juddmonte, said: “She’s in good shape and training well.

“The ground is going to be a little quicker than ideal, but it’s good and safe and the track have done a great job watering.

“We’re going to get her season up and running and see how we go. She has smart form and she’s finished behind Lake Victoria in the Moyglare, who is obviously very good. We like our filly and Ger and Colin (Keane) hold her in high regard.”

Archie Watson’s Duty First was supplemented following her surprise success in the Fred Darling at Newbury, while Ralph Becket’s Chantilly Lace and Elwateen from Saeed bin Suroor’s yard both have their sights raised after winning on their respective debuts last season.

Ollie Sangster’s pair of Flight and Simmering, Jack Channon’s Fred Darling runner-up Hey Boo and and Andrew Balding’s Nell Gwyn third Remaat also feature.