After supplementing Pretty Crystal for the season's first fillies' Classic, Richard Fahey is eager to see how she does in the Qipco 1000 Guineas.
The daughter of Dubawi ran well in defeat in the Albany and Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot, the Prestige Fillies’ Stakes at Goodwood, and the Firth of Clyde Stakes at Ayr after winning on her racecourse debut at Ripon last summer. However, few would have written her off as a legitimate contender for the Guineas at that point.
But owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum has paid the necessary £30,000 to enter her in the race, and Fahey believes she deserves her spot in the lineup after she defeated Guineas' favourite Dance Sequence on her seasonal debut in the Nell Gwyn at Newmarket three weeks ago.
“I wouldn’t say she took me by surprise (in the Nell Gwyn), but I genuinely didn’t think we could beat the favourite, as I thought the favourite was a special filly,” the trainer told Sky Sports Racing. “We thought Pretty Crystal would run a big race and it didn’t look a fluke to me. She did everything right, handled the track and conditions and was finishing well – the favourite came to beat her and she went again, so we were delighted and it was probably an easy supplement to do.”
This weekend, Pretty Crystal will attempt a mile for the first time, but Fahey is optimistic that her endurance will hold up.
He added: “Her mother (Pretty Baby) was a breeze-up filly and I remember she burned a hole in the track at Arqana, so that’s always been in the back of my mind that she was very speedy, but she did win over seven furlongs and if you delve into the pedigree on the dam’s side, she’s definitely got every opportunity (of staying a mile). Watching her run the other day, she travelled well and picked up and was galloping right through the line, so I’ve every confidence she’ll stay, so fingers cross she gets a bit of luck, as she’s going there fighting fit and very healthy.”