Richard Hannon has provided a positive bulletin on G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Mammas Girl (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) ahead of Sunday’s Qipco 1000 Guineas.
Owned by Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing vehicle, Mammas Girl is priced up at a general 7-1 chance for Guineas glory on Sunday.
Hannon, who sprang a 66-1 surprise in the 1000 Guineas with Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) in 2019, said, “This would be exactly the shot in the arm that will create something that Kia will never forget. Racehorses like this and days like this bring you something money can’t buy. You can’t come into it with millions of pounds and just buy a Guineas winner.
“Kia has had bad horses and good horses and he has invested heavily in the sport. It is important for people like him to get success. This would be like a life goal for him and it would be a nice story.”
He added, “I think this filly has an awful lot of scope and arrives in the Guineas with a perfect track record. Nobody could see Billesdon Brook coming, but with this filly it wouldn’t be a surprise as she has won a Group 3 very well and they have all got her to beat.”
With neither Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) or Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), above Mammas Girl in the betting for Sunday’s race, yet to be seen this season, Hannon thinks that his charge has an edge.
He said, “We’ve not seen anything of the first two in the market this spring and she has the advantage of a run and she will improve massively for that run going into the Guineas.
“There is only one way to get match fit and that is playing matches. She actually had a little haematoma on her thigh in February and we lanced it but that got infected and that slowed us up for between a month to six weeks so that wasn’t ideal timing-wise.
“She wasn’t there in her coat when we went to the Nell Gwyn but she looks a million dollars now as she is there in her coat. I thought she would run very well but I didn’t think she would win like that [in the Nell Gwyn].”
He added, “I was surprised she won going away as she did as she is by a sprinter and out of a mare by a sprinter. Other people have said it will be doubtful if she gets a mile but she didn’t look like she was stopping to me.
“I don’t think the trip will be a problem as she wasn’t stopping in the Nell Gwyn. She doesn’t pull and they will go faster in the Guineas which will help her. She looks like a Group 1 filly.”
Mammas Girl may represent the best chance Hannon has of securing a second 1000 Guineas success, however, he believes that in the twice-raced Powerdress (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), he has another ‘dark horse’ that is capable of running well at a big price.
He said: “Powerdress is a gorgeous big filly and she is effectively a bit of Billesdon Brook. This filly is under the radar. She ran a super race against the colts at Newmarket last time.
“She was very big going into that race and she had not run since winning as a two-year-old on her debut at last year’s Craven meeting.
“She just blew up coming out of the dip but she was the last one of the bridle. She will probably come on a stone for that. She is a dark horse in the Guineas and she could run very well.
“Her owner Martin Hughes (owner) is keen to have a go at it and I’m behind him as I think he is right to roll the dice.”
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