The Club Racing, Needle in a Haystack and Sagamore Farm's Miss Temple City (Temple City) was among the entries taken for both the G1 Queen Anne S. and G2 Duke of Cambridge S. at the upcoming Royal Ascot meet in late June. The 5-year-old, who finished a good fourth in the 2015 G1 Coronation S. before once again completing the superfecta in the 2016 Duke of Cambridge, could be bound for England once again should she run well in Saturday's GII Distaff Turf Mile S. at Churchill Downs, trainer Graham Motion said Wednesday.
“To come to Royal Ascot, I really don't want to run much later than this weekend,” Motion said. “Miss Temple City had a little setback over the winter when she got loose one day. She got some inflammation in a leg which caused me to back off her for two to three weeks. Otherwise, she would have run at Keeneland like she did last year. So Saturday is sort of Plan B but she has had a couple of good workouts and is close enough to being ready to run.”
Miss Temple City beat males twice last year at Keeneland in the GI Maker's 46 Mile and GI Shadwell Turf Mile before closing out her 4-year-old campaign with a score in the GI Matriarch S. at Del Mar Dec. 4.
Motion said his charge has matured as a 5-year-old. The Queen Anne is to be contested on the opening day of the meet, June 20, while the Duke of Cambridge–which attracted a record 40 entries–is scheduled for June 21.
“She has handled the traveling very well and her owners have wanted to come back for a third shot,” Motion concluded.
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