Boughey excited by prospect of ‘two-year-old race of the year’

George Boughey is among those looking forward to the “best two-year-old race in a long time” in the shape of Saturday’s Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Cheveley Park Stakes.

The Newmarket handler saddled his recently-retired unbeaten superstar Bow Echo to win the Royal Lodge on this day a year ago, and 12 months on he is represented by Libertango in what is being billed as a mouthwatering clash between three top-class fillies.

“You’re right saying it’s the two-year-old race of the year – it’s the best two-year-old race in a long time, I thought,” he said.

“So much has to go right to get them all together for one race, certainly three of them and there are more decent animals in there too.”

It says plenty about the strength of the Group One contest that Libertango is only third best according to the market, despite winning the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Lowther at York.

In the first of those victories she beat the reopposing Sun Goddess, after which she was second to another of her big weekend rivals, Senorita Bonita, in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes on the July course.

Boughey is well aware of the task she faces on her return to the top level, but is relishing what he considers to be a “proper smash-up”.

“We’re just delighted with our filly, she’s trained beautifully into this. It’s nice to see the sun shining in Newmarket and hopefully we’re going to get decent ground,” he continued.

“All three fillies have collateral form, it’s obviously different ground and a different track but same trip. It’s a proper smash-up and I think the one thing with our filly is she has been working as well if not better than ever.

“Last year we had Bow Echo in the Royal Lodge and we thought he was the best two-year-old colt that we’ve had. Libertango is the shortest-priced horse we’ve had for a Group One as a two-year-old and her work has mirrored that.”

While Libertango clearly handled the rain-softened ground on her latest outing at York, Boughey is adamant she will be more effective on the forecast quicker surface on the Rowley Mile.

He added: “Her pedigree and her action suggests she’ll be better on faster ground and even after watching her on Thursday morning, I was thinking it’s still a bit of a shock that she handled the ground at York as well as she did as she hardly takes her feet off the ground.

“God willing it stays dry and we get a fair contest.”

Since being beaten by Victorious in the Queen Mary at the Royal meeting, Simon and Ed Crisford’s Senorita Bonita has seen off Libertango at Newmarket and travelled to France to beat the boys in the Prix Morny.

Ed Crisford said: “We’re really pleased with Senorita Bonita coming into the Cheveley Park – she’s trained super well since the Prix Morny in August.

“It looks to be a real cracking race. All the fillies in the race are of a high quality and we’re very lucky to have a filly good enough to take part.”

Sun Goddess is four from four since her defeat at the hands of Libertango, a sequence encompassing Group One wins in the Phoenix and Moyglare Stud Stakes and a breathtaking victory in a valuable sales race at York.

It is only 13 days since her spectacular Moyglare success, but Aidan O’Brien is happy to send her back into action once more.

He said: “She seems to be fine. She appears to have come out of her last race in the Moyglare very well.

“She has just progressed from race to race so far. She’s a very good filly, she has lot of ability and she loves her racing.

“She’s already beaten the colts in the Phoenix so we’re looking forward to it.”

The Ballydoyle handler also saddles outsider and possible pacemaker Snowing, while his son Joseph has an intriguing contender in Alwaysanangel, who finished a close-up third behind Senorita Bonita and Libertango in the Duchess of Cambridge and has since struck gold in Listed company at Cork.

O’Brien told Tattersalls: “Alwaysanangel has had a good preparation for the race and has had a good season up until now. We’re very much looking forward to competing in what is as strong a renewal of the race as I can recall in recent years. I think we go there with every chance.”

Andrew Balding’s Moonrise, who has won three of her four starts to date, completes the stellar sextet.