Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah's Nathra (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), fifth in Saturday's G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas, will take another shot at Classic glory in the May 15 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Bruce Raymond, racing manager to the owner, said he wasn't keen to take on Guineas winner Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and second Ballydoyle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) again. Nathra finished 4 1/2-lengths second to Minding in last year's G1 Dubai Fillies' Mile and won the G3 Nell Gwyn S. Apr. 12.
“We'd maybe look at meeting the third horse [Alice Springs] again, but the first two look very good,” Raymond noted. “We're not making excuses, but I think she'd definitely prefer more cut in the ground, which may help her close the gap. The plan at the moment is to run in the French Guineas. She's come out of it in good shape, but of course there are still 10 days to go. After that we might have a look at the Coronation S. [at Royal Ascot] and then you're looking at taking on the older fillies and maybe dropping down in class. If we can, we'll be looking to avoid the first two, though.”
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