Godolphin's dual Group 2 winner Usherette (Ire) (Shamardal), a disappointing sixth of seven in last month's G1 Falmouth S., will get a late summer break after a scope revealed she bled in that turnover.
“She was scoped after the race and she bled a little a bit,” confirmed trainer Andre Fabre. “We have given her a little break. She won't be out in August and we will wait for the autumn. Once they have had a bleeding problem it takes a bit of time to get them back and it does leave a bit of a question mark, but luckily it was not too bad.”
Usherette first signaled she might be something serious when defeating Group 1 winner Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G2 Dahlia S. at Newmarket May 1, and she followed up impressively in Royal Ascot's G2 Duke of Cambridge S. June 15.
Fabre confirmed the 4-year-old's targets could include the G1 Prix de Moulin de Longchamp Sept. 11 and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot on British Champions Day Oct. 15. Both races are contested over a mile.
Fabre also identified a next outing for Khalid Abdullah's 2015 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who has not been seen since finishing a well-beaten sixth behind A Shin Hikari (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan May 24.
“We had a virus in the yard in the spring, but all those problems are over now,” Fabre explained. “He has taken a little time to come back, but he is doing well and we will run in the [G3] Prix Gontaut-Biron [Aug. 15].”
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