Sandrine

Sandrine did well to get as close as she got in the 1000 Guineas. Held up early on from her high draw and racing towards the stands side, she was a little keen through the early stages of the race, but she settled into her racing rhythm at the back of the field as they raced to the half-way point. She travelled well to the three-furlong marker, she was one of the only fillies who was still on the bridle at that point, and she moved up nicely on the near side, with only the Godolphin filly Wild Beauty closer to the stands rail than she was. She moved to her left when she came under pressure, which wasn’t ideal, it took her closer to the stands rail, away from her main rivals on the far side, but she picked up well and, while her run flattened out a little through the final 150 yards, she still kept on well enough to take fifth place, just a half a length behind third-placed Tuesday and losing out by just a head to Zellie for fourth.

Winner of her maiden on her racecourse debut last season, Andrew Balding’s filly progressed from that to win the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot on heavy ground and the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket in July, before finishing second in the Gimcrack Stakes and third in the Cheveley Park. She was a really talented juvenile, and her Guineas run suggests that she retains lots of ability. Her half-sister won over nine furlongs, and you couldn’t say that she didn’t stay in the Guineas, but it may be that Sandrine will be at her best at distances short of a mile. She holds entries in the Coronation Stakes over a mile and in the Commonwealth Cup over six furlongs at Royal Ascot, and it may be that the shorter race will suit her best of those two options, but it may be that seven furlongs will prove to be her optimum trip.
Newmarket, 1^st May 2022