Roger Varian reports that 1000 Guineas winner Elmalka is in excellent condition and on track to compete in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The daughter of Kingman achieved Classic glory at Newmarket in just her third race, coming from last to first to narrowly defeat Porta Fortuna by a neck.
“She’s in great form and has had no problems,” Varian told Sky Sports Racing. “She’s done everything right since the Guineas and completed a lovely bit of work last week. We’re very much planning for the Coronation Stakes. Since her win at Newmarket, we had no intention of going to Ireland. That was only her third start, so it seems like she’s getting the hang of it now, and hopefully, we’ll see a strong performance at Ascot.”
A wide draw necessitated hold-up tactics at Newmarket, but Roger Varian believes his filly is versatile and may employ a different strategy at the Royal meeting.
“That was really the only way we could ride her at Newmarket when we were drawn 16 of 16,” Varian explained. “She’s so inexperienced that we couldn’t go forward from that draw and race on a wide wing with no cover.
“So we decided beforehand to accept the draw and ride her to run well – and as it turned out, everything worked for her.
“But she’s very straightforward. She’s been slow to get the hang of things, but now she looks like she knows her job, so I’m sure she’ll be a very straightforward ride at Ascot.”
Varian is confident that sticking to a mile is the right choice for now, but he hasn't ruled out moving up in distance later, considering how Elmalka stayed on well to win in the final strides of the Guineas.