Mullins’ Princess aiming to be the October queen of Ascot

WILLIE MULLINS is targeting Princess Zoe at an Ascot return in the middle of a gruelling October schedule for the six-year-old.

The Group One filly finished runner-up to Subjectivist in the Gold Cup at the Royal meeting in June, and followed that up with another second-placed finish in the Irish St Leger Trial Stakes at the Curragh.

She is priced at hosre odds 7/1, as per horse bettiung apps in the UK, for the Long Distance Cup after being edged out by Melbourne Cup-winner Twilight Payment at the Curragh. Princess Zoe appeared to be going at least as well as the winner running up against the rail, but Twilight Payment stayed on the better of the two to score by a length-and-three-quarters, reports RacingQuestions.co.uk.

The lack of a win this year for the daughter of Jukebox Jury has not diminished Mullins’ belief in a horse who won the Qatar Prix du Cadran in 2020, with the Ascot trip sandwiched between two returns to Paris – an attempt to retain the Prix du Cadran and the Prix Royal-Oak on October 24.

“The reason she ran at the Curragh (Irish St Leger Trial Stakes) is because I want to run her three times in October and didn’t want to have to run her in September,” said the Irish training machine, a man far more accustomed to producing National Hunt winners.

“The plan is to go back and defend her crown in the Cadran, then head to Ascot for the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day, and then the Prix Royal-Oak. We might only get to take in two out of the three when it comes down to it but I’m aiming her at all three.

“I actually think she’s better than she’s ever been now. Joey (Sheridan – jockey) thought he had Twilight Payment covered all the way up the straight but just couldn’t get to him. He’s a very good horse and he loves the Curragh too. The ground had dried out an awful lot in 24 hours. It was good and safe but it had dried out a lot.

“We were running over six furlongs short of our optimum trip. That was a mile and six and our optimum is two and a half miles.”

There will be some serious competition back at Ascot with Stradivarius and the Alan King-trained Trueshan, winner of the race in 2020, heading the betting (5/2), with Twilight Payment (8/1) also expected to make the trip to the Berkshire track. The ground will be key to any battle between the first three in the betting, with Goodwood Cup winner Trueshan and Princess Zoe favouring cut in the ground whereas Stradivarius prefers a sounder surface. However, Princess Zoe did finish more than two lengths ahead of Stradivarius in this year’s Gold Cup on good to firm ground.

Seven-year-old Stradivarius halted a run of defeats with victory in the two-mile Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in April, and was withdrawn on the day of the Goodwood Cup in July due to the soft surface. Trueshan claimed a first Group One in the Goodwood race and is clearly a horse on the up on the top-level stayers’ circuit and as well as a defence of the Long Distance Cup, Alan King is also eyeing the Prix du Cadran.