Senorita Bonita made an eyecatching start to life on the track when getting up in the shadow of the post to win at Nottingham.
The daughter of Starspangledbanner, trained by Simon & Ed Crisford for owners Victorious Forever, made 900,000 guineas at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up sale earlier in the year and was all the rage in the market under Oisin Murphy in the British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes.
The 10/11 favourite still looked to have a lot on her plate with a couple of furlongs to go, Andrew Balding's Fast Track having kicked for home and almost stealing a march on the rest of the pack.
However, Murphy kept his cool on Senorita Bonita and gradually wore down the deficit on the far side throughout the final furlong. She had her head down at just the right time in the five-furlong contest to beat 6/1 shot Fast Track by a short-head.
Terminology (7/1) was a further three and a quarter-lengths back in third, with Halliwell Stream (22/1) best of the rest in fourth.
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Paddy Power reacted by clipping the winner to 8/1 from 14/1 for the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot later this month and joint-trainer Simon Crisford said: "We had to do it the hard way. She was very nice, only ever doing enough and finished off well. She’s hopefully [a Royal Ascot filly] but we’ll let the dust settle.
“Mid-way through the race, it wasn’t looking very hopeful through the race as we were probably on the wrong side of the track and we weren’t getting the cover that we wanted.
"Her turn of foot was exceptional – whether she’s a five-furlong or a six-furlong filly is debatable.
“Fast ground will suit her well. What pleased me most of all was her temperament, she was very sweet and kind and stayed switch off through the race. She’ll improve mentally and physically a lot, with a bright future ahead of her.”
PADDOCK VIEW
A late entry to the paddock, Senorita Bonita was treated with the reverence and care becoming a 900,000 guineas purchase. Two handlers weren’t needed; this is a filly with a quiet, kind nature and she didn’t turn a hair from paddock to post, trotted quietly down by Oisin Murphy. It was no surprise to see a nice physical (good-sized, well-balanced but with room for further growth), but the filly will improve for fitness – if she turns up at Royal Ascot, it’s likely we’ll see a tighter and more muscular model.
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