Fillies and mares take centre stage on day two of Newmarket’s Piper Heidsieck July Festival, Friday, 8th July, Abu Dhabi Day, when the highlight is the £160,000 Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes over a mile.
A possible international raider in this year’s renewal is River Jetez, trained by South African Mike de Kock and currently based at Abington Place stables in Newmarket.
The globe-trotting mare has shown high-class form in 2011, finishing runner-up in Group One contests in Dubai and Singapore.
Steve Jell, de Kock’s assistant trainer in Newmarket, commented: “We will see how River Jetez goes over the next couple of weeks before committing her to Newmarket.
“We want to possibly take her to Chicago for the Beverly D Stakes or Arlington Million in August and we want to give her a run before she goes out there, so the race is a possibility for her.
“She got beaten by a better horse on the day in Singapore and she improved a lot on her previous start in Hong Kong. She has done a fair bit of travelling already this year but she can handle it ‒ once she settles into a place, she is fine.
“I believe the stiff mile at Newmarket would suit her as she gets 2,000 metres but it would be a no pressure run and we just want to see how she goes ‒ we want her to go out there and enjoy herself.
“We wouldn’t know all about the local fillies and mares around but River Jetez has a bit of class about her.”
De Kock went close to glory in the Falmouth Stakes in 2007, when Irridescence was the length runner-up to Simply Perfect.
Also among the 36 entries for this year’s Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes are the 2010 winner Music Show, Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Misty For Me and French raider Sahpresa, who is no stranger to Newmarket having taken the last two renewals of the Group One Kingdom Of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes on the Rowley Mile.
