Oliver Brown Pretty Polly Stakes report and reaction: Jennifer Jane impresses

Sent off at 11/2 for her reappearance, Silvestre De Sousa took Charlie Johnston’s charge to the front as the stalls opened.

It became clear heading into the Dip that the chasing pack faced a real task to close her down, even when 2/1 favourite Sacred Ground came through to throw down her challenge

But she was booked for second throughout, winner Jennifer Jane running on powerfully to the line to score in style by six lengths.

Johnston said: “This filly came here during the Craven Meeting and she was one of the three fillies that galloped. She was just behind Venetian Lace so we left there thinking she was clearly in good fettle.

“The plan was, at that point, to start in the Michael Seely at York in a couple of weeks, but when I saw the entries for this on Monday morning I thought it was worth a look at.

“Physically she has grown a huge amount from two to three. Her pedigree wouldn’t have suggested this trip, but physically she looks like a mile and a quarter filly so I thought it was worth a try at the distance.

“Her owners are owner/breeders so she has got some big black type in her pedigree so it is a good result all round.

"I was struggling with her in the spring and she didn’t winter great. She was quite light and wasn’t eating really well. Over the past couple of weeks with the warmer weather she has really turned a corner.

“She has clearly stayed well, but where we go now I’ve no idea. She is in the Irish 1000 Guineas, but I wouldn’t have thought you come back two furlongs after that.

“Because she hadn’t wintered great, and was quite light during the spring, and hadn’t done a lot of work before she came here during the Craven Meeting, frustratingly I hadn’t been too ambitious with the entries until now, but that might have to change on the back of that.

“Amora Queen was the other filly to come here, and she ran well at Doncaster last week, and her and Venetian Lace had gone considerably better than her so I thought they were all in good shape.

“That trip feels right watching that. She has a nice blend of speed and stamina. Whether we would go another two furlongs I don’t know, and she is not in it (Betfred Oaks). It is a nice problem to have and we will go work it out.

“The manner of it was a pleasant surprise, and it is a nice problem to have thinking where we go next. These are the meetings we need to be showcasing ourselves at and to have had a winner every day shows we can do the job.”

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