Sangster reports ‘no negatives at this stage’ with star fillies

Ollie Sangster is counting down the days until his crack team of high-class fillies put their Classic aspirations to the test at the beginning of the new Flat turf season

The Manton handler – who is the grandson of the great owner-breeder Robert Sangster – has proven adept at nurturing fillies to peak on the big occasion during his short training career, with Shuwari a breakout performer during his first full season with a licence in 2023.

The 2024 campaign saw Moyglare runner-up Simmering and Star Stakes winner Celestial Orbit headline his legion of talented two-year-olds who, along with May Hill third Flight, form just a part of a catalogue of big-race hopefuls currently being put through their paces ahead of an exciting new campaign.

Simmering, Celestial Orbit and Flight all possess a ticket for the Betfred 1000 Guineas, as does Radley Stakes scorer Ellaria Sand, with Sangster eager to see which of last year’s star juveniles can make it onto the Newmarket teamsheet by the first weekend in May.

“Whether some of them take trials in or go straight to Newmarket or elsewhere, I guess it will sort itself out in the next couple of weeks or so,” said Sangster.

“There are plenty of options available in terms of trials, but they all seem to be in great form and have wintered well and I would be happy with how things are going at the moment.

“We’d be hopeful one or two of them would be up to lining up at Newmarket and putting in a nice performance and there’s no negatives at this stage.

“They are all starting to come to themselves now and have done well physically, it’s just finding out what level they fit in and where they all fall in line. We’ll find that out in the next month to six weeks but it’s a long season and I’m happy with how they are looking at the moment.”

Simmering’s fine second to Aidan O’Brien’s Fairy Godmother at Royal Ascot attracted the attention of Al Shaqab Racing to the Manton gates and the Qatar operation’s patronage was rewarded when she won both the Princess Margaret Stakes and Prix du Calvados last summer.

It was another Ballydoyle inmate and 1000 Guineas hopeful Lake Victoria that proved too strong when the daughter of Too Darn Hot had to settle for second at the Curragh in September.

However, with Fallen Angel a Classic winner from her sire’s first crop, there is hope Simmering could turn the tables in a Rowley Mile rematch.

“Simmering was very good last year and of course bumped into Lake Victoria in the Moyglare, which looks very smart form,” said Sangster.

“She’s a nice-sized filly and the ground was too slow for her in the Marcel Boussac at Longchamp, she wants quick ground and hopefully she can have a productive season.

“Too Darn Hot did very well with his Classic generation of fillies last year, so I would be hopeful she is going to have a nice season.”

Hopes are also high for Flight and Celestial Orbit, with the latter, who saw her juvenile season curtailed early due to a setback, one who could find herself diverted from Newmarket to France in search of her preferred going.

“Flight ran well in the May Hill and probably had one run too many by the end of last year when she was again third in the Oh So Sharp,” continued Sangster.

“She’s wintered very well and she’s probably the biggest of those fillies by a good way, she’s a fair-sized filly and she probably wasn’t entitled to do what she did at two – and hopefully this will be a more suitable season for her.

“Her work this year has been good and we would be hopeful of picking up at least a stakes race and hopefully perform at a higher level – she’s bred to do better this year.”

He went on: “Celestial Orbit was a good winner of the Star at Sandown but she picked up a small injury in that. It was nothing serious and we just gave her plenty of time to get over it and she’s wintered well.

“Her work has been good and she likes a bit of ease in the ground. She might be one to go out to France with and it will be interesting to see what trip she makes, as she’s by No Nay Never and they don’t tend to stay too far, but her half-brother (Nayef Road) was a very good stayer.”

Glamis Road, another of last year’s stakes-winning two-year-olds, may have seen her momentum checked when only third in the Prix la Camargo at Saint-Cloud recently, but there could be another filly with a bright future lurking at Manton after 100,000 guineas buy Bijoux made a taking debut at Southwell earlier this month.

Sangster said: “She’s a nice filly and we’ve always held her in high enough regard. She had a couple of setbacks last year, which is why she has only debuted now.

“We left plenty of learning on the job for her at Southwell, she was plenty green and should now take a nice step forward.

“She will probably be one to go for another novice with but she could pop up in a trial and we’ll just have to see how the next few weeks go.”

On the Saint-Cloud reversal of the Nick Bradley-owned Glamis Road, Sangster added: “It was a good performance in a handy enough race for the grade and it was her first run back off her winter break and first time at a mile.

“I think she’ll improve for it and hopefully will pick up another stakes race this year. I’d say the French 1000 Guineas may be a lofty target after that, but she wasn’t fully tuned up and hopefully there might be a nice bit of improvement to come and we can see where that lands us.”