Donnacha O'Brien's lightly-raced Atsila features among eight final declarations for Friday's Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes and the trainer is optimistic she could outrun her odds.
The daughter of Phoenix Of Spain is a general 25/1 chance for her second start in Group 1 company after finishing seventh in the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh when last seen.
She went into the mile Classic on the back of two straight wins, including a half-length defeat of subsequent Coronation Stakes winner Cercene in the Group 3 Athasi Stakes in early-May.
O'Brien, who won the Falmouth 12 months ago courtesy of Porta Fortuna, is happy to excuse Atsila's most recent run.
He said on Wednesday's Nick Lucky Daily Podcast: "She broke slowly and was poorly positioned for most of the race. I suppose the form of her previous win at the Curragh has worked out very well and that's what has given us the confidence to have another go at a Group 1 with her.
"She's not a big worker at home, she keeps her best for the track. But she won her maiden first time at Bellewstown, coming from behind which is very hard to do there, and took the step up to Group 3 class very well. She weaved between horses and didn't get a very clear passage but won quite comfortably at the line.
"So when they do that they deserve a crack at a big one and I don't think she ran poorly in the Guineas. She deserves another chance in a Group 1.
"She's good and training well, she saves her best for the track but I suppose it's better that way around. She's got to prove she's up the class of the Falmouth, it looks quite a deep race but there's not too many options for fillies who have won Group races this time of year."
The Falmouth betting is topped by Cinderella's Dream (9/4) for Charlie Appleby, the Duke Of Cambridge runner-up a shorter price than reopposing Ascot victor Crimson Advocate (7/2), who will be 3lb worse off on the revised terms this week.
Between them in the market at 5/2 is Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old January, who was third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas behind stable companion Lake Victoria.
Running Lion, Elmalka, Elwateen and Lady Ilze complete the line-up.
Running Lion's regular jockey, Oisin Murphy, said: “Running Lion ran a brave race at Ascot. We’re really looking forward to running her in Friday’s race. It is obviously quite open but we’re hopeful for a big run.”
Donnacha O'Brien also issued an update on the aforementioned stable star Porta Fortuna, who has been off the track since making a winning seasonal debut in the Lanwades Stud Stakes at the Curragh on May 25.
The trainer said: "She's good, she got a little setback before Ascot and I had to give her a bit of a break. It was a frustrating time of year to get a setback but we're hoping to get her back for later in the year. We're looking at the Matron, it's a race she won last year and makes sense timing-wise for when we think we could get her back.
"We'll have to take it day by day with her but if she came back and had a good return in the Matron then there are a lot of options internationally in the autumn."
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