Exciting two-year-old Santosha heading to York for Lowther – and she could be joined by Caroline Dale
DAVID Loughnane is taking the Low road with exciting two-year-old Santosha.
The filly provided her trainer with his first Group winner when bagging the Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot last month.
And she now has the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York’s upcoming Ebor Festival in her sights.
The daughter of Coulsty saw her race out strongly over the stiff 6f at Ascot, and the Lowther will determine whether she stays sprinting or goes up in trip in the autumn.
Loughnane told Sun Racing: “She came out of Ascot really well. She is still learning on the job but she has got a lot of ability.
“She has the speed for six furlongs but she will have no trouble at all getting 7f this season and we will get her up to a mile next year.
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“We will go to the Lowther later this month and depending on how she gets on there, we will go onto the Cheveley Park or the Rockfel depending if we think she needs a step up in trip after York. The Lowther will answer a lot of questions for us.”
Unsurprisingly, there have been several substantial bids for the filly from overseas, but owner Susan Lynas has so far rejected all offers.
Loughnane said: “We have had quite a few offers, nothing has been accepted as of yet thankfully. There have been some substantial offers mainly from America.
“The right offer is the right offer, but Susan and her partner Paddy have been in racing for a long time and this is the first one they’ve had in training for a long time.
“They’re living the dream at the moment so it is probably hard to walk away from that.”
Speedy filly Caroline Dale wasn’t far behind her stablemate when third in the Princess Margaret on King George weekend.
She will likely go for a Listed race at Newbury on August 16 – though Loughnane admitted it was tempting to send her up to York for a tilt at the Nunthorpe.
He said: “She stayed on again at the end at Ascot and she was probably just doing a bit too much in front in early.
“She would be a much better filly with something to aim at, but she has so much natural early pace it’s difficult to find another horse to lead her.
“She will definitely get six furlongs but five might just be ideal for her now given her gate speed. There is a Listed fillies race at Newbury on August 16, though we may think about a crack at the Nunthorpe as she will have no weight on her back.”