Sariska dashes royal hopes with majestic display in Musidora

A biting wind rendered York unfit for a queen yesterday and the monarch was duly absent when Enticement, her Oaks candidate, finished third behind Sariska in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes. However, any disappointment that Her Majesty appears unlikely to be represented in the Epsom classics is tempered by Enticement's long-term prospects.
She faced a talented opponent in Sariska, whose victory was so authoritative that it swept her to the head of the Oaks market. Enticement was compromised by a fast surface that threatened the winner's participation until her trainer, Michael Bell, walked the course before racing.
“It was fast, safe racing ground, and it suited her,” Bell said after Sariska breezed away from Star Ruby to score by three-and-three-quarter lengths. Ridden from off the pace by Jamie Spencer, Sariska proved much the best in a race of fluctuating rhythms. Her prospects of emulating Motivator, with whom Bell won the Derby four years ago, require little amplification.
Bell is never one to understate his hand, yet his optimism is understandable. He resisted the lure of the 1,000 Guineas with a filly who always promised to improve over distance, and here came the payoff.
“I have been to Epsom with a good colt and now we go with a good filly,” he said. “She will take a bit of beating in the Oaks.” Sariska's triumph rewarded Lady Bamford, her owner/breeder, who has increased her commitment to the sport by investing in some broodmares of quality. Sariska's dam, Maycocks Bay, is among them, although her sire, the sprinter Pivotal, is not readily associated with classic winners over 12 furlongs.
While taken with the manner of Sariska's triumph, Spencer acknowledged that Sariska is unusually bred for an Oaks candidate. “The Pivotals are not meant to get 12 furlongs, but it's the individual that counts,” he said. “I don't doubt her ability to get the trip. It's more important to travel at Epsom, and that's what she does so well.” No filly by a sprinting sire has won the Oaks since Time Charter landed the classic 27 years ago.
Yet bookmakers would have us believe that it is about to happen again. In pricing up Sariska as favourite at 4-1, Coral make Midday, by the sprinter Oasis Dream, second-best at 5-1 after her Lingfield Oaks Trial victory on Saturday.
Supporters of Sariska would be more encouraged were she related to something more substantial than a tribe of staying handicappers. Her third dam, Mountain Lodge, won the Cesarewitch and Irish St Leger; hence the stamina in the line.
Enticement, a rare 310,000 guineas yearling purchase for the Queen, is more regally connected. However, Sir Michael Stoute, who trains the daughter of Montjeu, was a little surprised to see her roll around in the closing stages. “She is a lovely, quality filly who will have her day with some juice in the ground,” Stoute said.
Stoute looses Glass Harmonium in today's totesport Dante Stakes, after which the Derby trials will be all but complete. The Queen's Free Agent, an intended runner, waits instead for Goodwood next week, but connections of Kite Wood, purchased by Godolphin over the winter, are expecting a forward showing.
“It is a tough race for him,” Saeed Bin Suroor, Godolphin's trainer, said, “but he has the class. He has improved a lot over the winter, physically and mentally, and he has worked well for Frankie [Dettori].”
Nick Blofeld is to stand down from his post as managing director of Epsom racecourse in August, two years after he took over from Stephen Wallis. Blofeld is to take up a position outside the sport.
Source:The times