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Haggas filly floors favourite in Haydock Group Three
Klassique had too many guns for hot favourite True Self in the Betway Pinnacle Stakes at Haydock.
The decision to switch smart hurdler True Self to the Flat has proved a masterstroke by Ireland’s perennial champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins, with the six-year-old following up a Cork maiden triumph with three successive Listed victories at Bath, Newmarket and Gowran Park respectively.
She was a warm order to notch a fifth win on the bounce and add a Group Three success to her CV on Merseyside, and the 8-11 market leader travelled powerfully for much of the mile-and-a-half journey in the hands of Colin Keane.
However, the William Haggas-trained 7-2 chance Klassique responded admirably to Danny Tudhope’s urgings to charge to the lead in the testing conditions – and the further she went the better she looked, passing the post three lengths clear of the Irish raider.
Pilaster was just half a length further away in third.
Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, said: “She did great. She was lovely and settled – Danny gave her a lovely ride, and it couldn’t have gone better really.
“They had the best of the ground because they are on a fresh track, and there was only a four-runner race before it, but she seemed to handle the ground. She is better with a bit of cut, but it’s rather exceptional today and is getting worse. They’ve had three days of rain – it’s bottomless.
“She’s just improving. She was a tiny yearling, and they were brave to buy her. She had a year out at two (years of age), and when she came to us at three she was unrecognisable and has changed again this year – she’s holding her condition better.
“There are a few races for her – there’s the race at Doncaster (Park Hill Stakes), and you could go back up in trip with her, but she’s won a Group race and will be a lovely mare.”
The victory topped off an excellent week for Tudhope, who reached a career milestone of 1,000 domestic winners by steering Ingleby Hollow to victory at Thirsk on Monday.
He said: “It’s a great achievement – I’ll probably appreciate it more when I stop riding and I’ve time to look back.
“Hopefully there’s a few more winners to come before then.”
