Astral Beau, the five-year-old racehorse, may participate in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket for a second time, following her impressive defence of the Doncaster Mile on Saturday. Trained by Pam Sly, who achieved success in the Classics, Astral Beau had a remarkable season last year. After securing a notable victory at Town Moor, she went on to achieve respectable placements in the Dahlia Stakes and the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom. Additionally, she performed creditably by finishing fourth in the Falmouth Stakes, a Group One race.
Due to the unfavourable weather conditions during the wet winter, Sly was concerned that Astral Beau might not have had sufficient training for her return at Doncaster. However, she proved herself by finishing second to Charyn, trained by Roger Varian, who had achieved high placements in multiple races the previous year. The fact that the winner had a rating of 113 pleased Sly, indicating Astral Beau's strong performance.
Despite the doubts regarding Astral Beau's ability to continue performing well, Sly believes she is in good form. The plan for this season is to follow a similar route as last year and focus on races for fillies and mares. Newmarket and Epsom are potential racecourses, and there is also a race for mares at Royal Ascot (the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes). However, Sly anticipates that the ground may be too firm at that time.
In the previous season, Astral Beau finished third in two Group races, competing against Via Sistina and Prosperous Voyage, both of whom were subsequently sold for substantial sums of money (2.7 million guineas and 2.4 million guineas, respectively).
Astral Beau herself possesses significant value as a potential broodmare in the future. However, considering her lineage, which traces back to Sly's 1000 Guineas-winning horse, Speciosa, it is unlikely that she will be put up for sale at auction. Sly expressed amazement at the high prices fetched by the mares Astral Beau competed against, noting that Via Sistina recently won a race in Australia.
The trainer believes that Astral Beau will be desired by her family, particularly her granddaughter, who has a keen interest in breeding and may succeed Sly in managing the horse in the future.