Falmouth Stakes preview: Ralph Beckett runs Prosperous Voyage and Remarquee

Ralph Beckett’s filly merits every respect as she bids to repeat last year’s defeat of Inspiral, but her trainer also has the shorter-priced recent Coronation Stakes runner-up Remarquee in Friday’s race, which is part of the 35-race QIPCO British Champions Series.

It was not the biggest surprise when Remarquee failed to fulfil the promise of her Fred Darling Stakes win in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, nor that she should redeem herself at Royal Ascot when chasing home Tahiyra, who many consider the best of her age and sex at a mile.

Since then, Remarquee has been bought privately by the Emir of Qatar’s fast-rising Wathnan Racing, which enjoyed major success at Royal Ascot with recent purchases Courage Mon Ami and Gregory after going desperately close in France with another, Isaac Shelby.

Beckett said: “I’d been the Fred Darling route with Guineas fillies before and it hadn’t worked, and it didn’t work again with Remarquee, but that’s life. It was great to have her back to her best in the Coronation Stakes.”

He added: “Wathnan is obviously an organisation which is going to grow and they are looking for horses to run in Group 1s. Remarquee is a Group 1 performer with a very good pedigree [by Kingman and from the family of Oaks winner Look Here], so obviously it makes very good sense for them. They’ve made a flying start here with Courage Mon Ami and Gregory. Let’s hope Remarquee is the third one off the rank.”

While seemingly sweet on the chance of Remarquee, Beckett is far from dismissive about Prosperous Voyage and reported that both fillies worked well last weekend.

While the main talking point after Prosperous Voyage’s win a year ago was the defeat at odds of 1-7 of the sensational Coronation Stakes winner Inspiral, who was laboured in second, Prosperous Voyage is a classy filly in her own right and had earlier been second in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas.

She beat Random Harvest and Astral Blue in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom last month and then finished a place behind Random Harvest when the pair were beaten by Rogue Millennium in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.

“I’m happy with Prosperous Voyage,” Beckett said. “It didn’t go to plan for her at Ascot, as they went very slow and she’s a filly who likes to roll along. She won the Falmouth last year, and we are looking forward to running her back there.”

Beckett has booked William Buick for Prosperous Voyage and has Rob Hornby on Remarquee. He explained: “Rob is the only one to have ridden Remarquee, and although he rode Prosperous Voyage a year ago he hasn’t ridden her this year.”

Via Sistina heads the market for Friday’s race, for which last year’s Prix de Diane and Nassau Stakes winner Nashwa was supplemented at the weekend at a cost of £20,000, but George Boughey’s filly Via Sistina, who was a Group 1 winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes at The Curragh last time, is not a certain runner.

Boughey, who took over Via Sistina’s training when Joe Tuite retired last year, is nevertheless confident she will be competitive if there is some rain.

He said: “I’ve been happy with her since she won in Ireland and she couldn’t be training much better, but she will need some rain. It’s fast going. I walked the track twice on Monday and it was faster in the evening than the morning following a drying day.”

He added: “She’s a filly who has really come into her own in the last six months now that she’s fully matured, but she was a questionable runner in Ireland until they had just enough rain to run her. Should we have proper good ground I’d hope she would take her chance and I think she can prove pretty competitive in that field.

“She has plenty of pace and a good turn of foot, so I’d have no worries dropping back to a mile, especially on a straight track. She’s a high-class filly, but she has plenty of opportunities to come, and if we don’t see her in the Falmouth, her next start is likely to be in the Nassau.”

Nashwa will be having her first race at a mile since she won her maiden by a wide margin last year, but she has always looked to have more speed than stamina and is unlikely to be unduly inconvenienced by the drop in trip after struggling to last home over 1m2f against Al Husn at Newcastle last time.

Her trainers, John and Thady Gosden, also saddle Coppice, who disappointed when favourite for the Nell Gwyn Stakes on her reappearance but has earned this return to Patter company with subsequent wins in a novice at Newcastle and the Sandringham Handicap (off a mark of 97) at Royal Ascot.

Random Harvest provides 21-year-old Saffie Osborne a great opportunity in a Group 1 in this first season without a claim.

Osborne said: “Having a ride like her in my first year without a claim is massive. I had a ride for dad in the Gold Cup last year, but Random Harvest will be my first live chance in one and it’s so exciting. To ride a homebred for Lady Bamford and for her to do so well is really special. I rode her at the weekend and she felt great.

“She’s been unbelievable for me. I got on her at Royal Ascot last year when she was rated 81 and we were beaten only a neck by Rising Star in the Kensington Palace. We won a Group 3 in Milan after that and this year we’ve been second in the Princess Elizabeth at Epsom on Derby Day and in the Duke Of Cambridge at Royal Ascot, beaten a neck there again. She’s rated 108 now, so she’s improved about two stone in a year.”

A field of nine is completed by the Roger Varian-trained Ameynah, who suffered a setback after finishing a very promising sixth in last year’s QIPCO 1000 Guineas and is making her first appearance since, and Aidan O'Brien's Never Ending Story, who was well beaten behind Via Sistina last time but was previously a four-length second in the Prix de Diane.

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