Later Return For Covert Love

Dual Group 1 winner Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}) will miss the early part of the season due to a hoof infection. Hugo Palmer was initially hoping the 4-year-old would start off at York this week but the setback has interrupted her training regime and it could now be Royal Ascot before last year's G1 Darley Irish Oaks and Prix de l'Opera Longines winner makes her return. “She is back cantering and she has put on an awful lot of weight,” said Palmer. “The [G1] Prince of Wales's Stakes [June 15] is the obvious starting point for her but we do not have to make that decision until the week running up to it. She has run well at Ascot and a stiff mile and a quarter would be right up her street. If she doesn't make that, then there is the [G1] Pretty Polly [June 26] at the Curragh,” added the trainer. Palmer is quite happy to let Covert Love take on colts rather than restricting her to races confined to fillies and mares and said, “There are a lot of good fillies around, so why avoid the colts? – especially when she gets an allowance. It might be a blessing she hasn't had a busy first half of the year and hopefully she'll pick up plenty of prizemoney this campaign.”