The Sporting Life Podcast team share their thoughts on the Tattersalls Sceptre Cheveley Park Stakes - is it really a three-way battle?
Graham Cunningham: I think it’s the highlight of the weekend, clearly, and it's looked like it might be a championship race for quite a while and here they all are, the big three. All are apparently in prime form and all are turn-of-foot queens, who are played late and can finish very, very strongly.
I’m sure Aidan O’Brien will run a pacemaker here for Sun Goddess, he did that to great advantage in the Phoenix with her, and she can just look a little flat in a race for two seconds. Traffic intervened at York but she finishes super powerfully that day and I think this race is a test of track position and jockeyship.
I’m not knocking the rating Timeform have on Sun Goddess but I think those recent races have been set up for her to produce a big number and I don’t think she’ll have much, if anything, in hand over Senorita Bonita and Libertango on Saturday. There’s not much between those two on Newmarket form. Senorita Bonita bolted up over 1200 metres on testing ground at Deauville last time. I don’t think she needs it like that.
Libertango is a tough one to pin down. She only won the Sky Bet Lowther by half-a-length but she didn't have to cover some ground to offset stall 15 and she also displayed a very good turn of foot. I think the prices are about right and it's interesting that the two of them, Senorita Bonita and Libertango, are both breeze-up horses. They were expensive and right here, right now types.
If you pushed me hard I think I’d be with Senorita Bonita because she must be really good to beat the colts so handsomely in France. When Libertango was second to her in Newmarket I thought Libertango had to use her turn of foot a little earlier than ideal. But whichever way you jump here, this is a splendid Group One race.
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Ben Linfoot: I think we might see quite a lot of change to the market before race time. There are the concerns over Aidan’s form and Sun Goddess’ best form so far is over seven furlongs. I think that will just come into punters’ minds when they are assessing this race over six. Senorita Bonita looks the out-and-out six furlong filly in this race, I think that's undisputed, but the other one we should talk about is Alwaysanangel for Joseph O’Brien.
She’s swerved the Rockel for this and wasn’t beaten that far at all by Senorita Bonita and Libertango at Newmarket on what was just her second start, finishing strongly. She’s won since over seven and I don’t think the 12/1 is going to last. She’ll go off much shorter than that and this 'big three' might just become a big four in the battle for the Cheveley Park.
I think it's all set up to be a brilliant race and would just prefer Senorita Bonita at this trip and I think there’ll be money for Alwaysanangel too and I think she’ll run really well.
David Johnson: I find it very difficult to have a strong view. I was looking at the market and thought Sun Goddess and Senorita Bonita would be further apart than they are. I would be with Senorita Bonita because I think she’s the six-furlong filly. But I’m going to have to sit on the fence, I’m not getting involved. I just think it’s one of those races, the only way to spoil it would be having a bet and backing a loser.
I am worried about the track for Sun Goddess. She’s sort of missed the break a couple of times in her last three starts. I’ve been looking at the forecast, there’s not much wind in it but what there is will be mostly behind them. And if she misses the break again and sits last or towards the rear like she has done her last couple of starts, then he's going to have to do a lot of running to pass them all.
These are speedy, fast fillies who it isn’t going to be easy to get past. I think she’s the best horse. We know she has the best form. But I wouldn’t be confident shell be able to reproduce that under these conditions.
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