Condon Eyes Newmarket For Mamba

Ken Condon has Newmarket in mind for his smart 2-year-old filly Mamba Noire (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). The juvenile redeemed her reputation with a good third to Aidan O'Brien's Clemmie (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Grangecon Stud S. at The Curragh last Sunday, having previously finished mid-division in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot. The Arqana yearling graduate was staying on well at the end of six furlongs last weekend but her trainer is in no hurry to step her up further. “She might get seven furlongs later in the year, but we will stick to six for now and she'll have an entry in the [G2] Duchess of Cambridge Stakes in Newmarket on Friday week,” Condon said. The filly's owner Tom Whitehead had Magical Fire (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) finish second in the Duchess Of Cambridge (formerly the Cherry Hinton S.) last year and Condon feels the form of The Curragh race entitles Mamba Noire to take her chance at Newmarket. “I think the two Ballydoyle fillies that finished ahead of her are both probably Group One fillies. There was no hiding place. A few of the jockeys that rode in it said it rode like a good race and that's the way it looked. Our filly came home well in the last 75 yards, which is always good to see and got the six furlongs well. We'll see how she is in the next week or so, but she seems to have come out of the race on Sunday well,” he added.

Condon also revealed an ambitious long term plan for his grand campaigner Success Days (Ire) (Jeremy). The Robert Ng owned 5-year-old entire again acquitted himself well when second to Johannes Vermeer (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Finley Volvo International S. and Condon has a few other Group 3 races in mind before possibly pitching him into the top level later in the year. “He ran a great race the other day on ground quicker than ideal. He was conceding 3lb to Johannes Vermeer and has run his usual consistent race,” he said. “The Royal Whip [Aug. 20] might be next if the ground is suitable, although we'll also keep an eye on the Meld Stakes in Leopardstown [July 20] before then. If the ground came up soft, the Group One we'd be looking at is the Champion Stakes in Ascot in October.” Condon is aware of the horse's limitations but his ability to handle soft ground is always a useful trait in the autumn. “He runs to a mark of around 114 consistently, which wouldn't be good enough to win most Group Ones, but when the ground goes very soft it can change the context of the race. We'll see how things pan out between now and then.”