James Doyle is hoping that Crimson Advocate can confirm the form of her Royal Ascot success as she gears up to battle with old rival Cinderella’s Dream in this week’s Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.
Previously trained in the USA by George Weaver, for whom she won the five-furlong Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2023, the daughter of Nyquist has thrived since joining John and Thady Gosden and being stepped up in distance to a mile.
A winner in Listed company at Goodwood earlier in the season, Wathnan Racing's high-class recruit continued her love affair with the Royal meeting when producing a striking turn of foot to get the better of Charlie Appleby's Cinderella's Dream in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes last month.
The duo will now renew rivalry at Newmarket's picturesque July course, with Wathnan Racing's retained rider James Doyle hopeful that his mount can uphold the form.
Speaking on a media call organised by the Jockey Club, Doyle, who will be riding the filly for the first time on the course at Newmarket on Friday, said: "I rode Crimson Advocate just before I got injured (at Chelmsford in April). It's a shame I have not had the chance to ride her on the track, but I have sat on her at home, and she is a beautiful filly who amazingly won the Queen Mary and is now up to a mile, which seems to be her trip.
"I know she was getting a bit of weight off of Cinderella's Dream at Royal Ascot, as the whole field was, but I thought she showed a really good turn of foot off of the turn to put the race to bed with some style.
"She really seems to have taken a step forward this year. Interestingly, I was speaking to Richard Brown (racing manager to Wathnan Racing) earlier this year and he said he'd been speaking to John and Thady and they think we should try this filly over a mile.
Everyone was scratching their heads a bit but that shows why John and Thady are the top firm that they are. At Ascot, it definitely proved the right call, and it would be lovely for her to get a Group 1 to her name as obviously the guys will be looking to breed from her at some stage further down the line."
John and Thady Gosden's four-year-old will take on seven rivals as she bids to claim a first Group 1 success at Newmarket on Friday, with Coronation Stakes third January the sole representative for Aidan O'Brien, while Roger Varian's 2024 1000 Guineas heroine Elmalka also takes her chance alongside the likes of Elwateen and Running Lion.
On whether she has what it takes to score at the highest level, Doyle added: "You would like to think she can step up and win a Group 1. James McDonald (who rode the filly at Royal Ascot), who has ridden so many Group 1 winner's and some very, very good fillies was full of praise for her, and he certainly thought she has got what it takes to take the next step up. He said she was a nice, uncomplicated ride who has a very good turn of foot.
"The slight possible question mark would be a mile in a straight line on Friday as James did seem to think she enjoyed going round a turn at Ascot, which she was obviously used to from her time in the States. But she did win a Queen Mary, albeit only over five furlongs, in a straight line."
