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Frankie Dettori booked for Guineas ride on Veracious

Jockey Frankie Dettori celebrates after riding Golden Horn to victory in the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes
Image: Jockey Frankie Dettori

Sir Michael Stoute revealed Frankie Dettori will ride Veracious in the Qipco 1000 Guineas after the pair enjoyed a racecourse gallop prior to racing at Newmarket on Wednesday.

The daughter of Frankel is a half-sister to Group-race winners Mutakayyef and Intimation and could not have been more impressive when shedding her maiden tag at Newmarket in October.

With Dettori aboard, Veracious went seven furlongs in company with stablemate Homeopathic, ridden by Ryan Moore, and was driven out to pull well clear late on.

Stoute said: "Frankie was very happy with her. She's a nice filly. She won her maiden here well, and I think she has developed very pleasingly and is coming to herself now, really coming.

"We'll run her (in the Guineas) and Frankie will ride her.

"I did have her in the Nell Gwyn, but I thought that (racecourse gallop) would be more beneficial."

Dettori was suitably impressed.

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He said: "It was the first time I'd ridden her and she's fit and well.

"She comes into the race as a bit of an unknown quantity, but she gave me a decent feel and it's an open Guineas now.

"The preparation has gone well so far."

Veracious is a general 10-1 shot for the 1000 Guineas on May 6, the same price as the Charlie Appleby-trained Wild Illusion, who also enjoyed a spin over the Rowley Mile in the hands of William Buick.

The daughter of Dubawi won two of her three starts as a juvenile including a surprise Group One success in the Prix Marcel Boussac at Chantilly in October.

She also worked over seven furlongs in company with stablemate and dual winner Night Castle, ridden by by James Doyle, and passed the post over a length to the good without being asked a serious question.

Buick said: "She's good. We did very little, but Charlie wanted to get her out and the idea was to get her out of the yard and have a look.

"The ground was nice and this was a nice exercise for her.

"She seems to have wintered well and she looks very well. Charlie and everyone is happy with her.

"She handled the dip very well. Sometimes a horse coming here for the first time they can get lost, but she is well coordinated. Fingers crossed."

The final big name to stretch their legs was last season's Coventry Stakes hero Rajasinghe.

Trained by Richard Spencer, he worked under Michael Hills, accompanied by the recently claimed Strategic Heights, and was well on top at the line.

Rajasinghe is a best-priced 66-1 for the Qipco 2000 Guineas.

reopens Spencer said: "I was very happy with that. I think coming here was a great way to get him away from his normal surroundings. He's come alive and it's perked him up a lot. Going down and working like he did was very pleasing. "Michael told me that when he gets excited, we should get excited and he seems very happy getting off him there and by the sounds of it he's pleased." Hills said: "That was really good, I couldn't be happier. He worked well and had a nice blow last week and to come to a racecourse and work on the grass will have put him right. "As you know, the spring hasn't been kind to us so it was lovely to get a real nice piece of work on the grass." The Derby-winning jockey believes drying ground will suit in the Guineas, adding: "I'd think he wants it faster, it rode a bit dead there but it's really exciting and the horse looks great. "He's done brilliantly from two to three and he's a big contender."

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