'He won't be sending her up to Ayr for no reason' - Red Danielle could be the answer to competitive Listed race

David Menuisier did a great job to land a Royal Ascot success with Wonderful Tonight three years ago and it will be fascinating to see whether he can get her half-sister, Heartache Tonight, to the big meeting next month. She will probably need to win this to book a ticket.

Heartache Tonight was badly outclassed in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on her reappearance, but that was the second time in two runs she had competed at Group 2 level and her previous two starts were in Group 1s. This Listed race represents a big drop in grade.

She seems at her best when there is juice in the ground, so the forecast rain could be crucial to her chance, but if it arrives she has been handed a good opportunity to outclass this field.

There are several potential improvers lining up, though, and Mistral Star is among them. She seems versatile with regards to ground, having won on good to firm but recorded her best effort on soft and that came on her last start at Saint-Cloud, when she finished a close second.

This is usually a stronger Listed race than that one, but Mistral Star is going forward quickly.

Similar comments apply to Verbier, who recorded her best effort on her last start in Listed company at Lingfield and is fitted with a hood now that she returns from a 143-day absence. Trainer Ralph Beckett doesn’t run many in that headgear and is 0-2 first time in recent years.

However, maybe the answer to the puzzle is Red Danielle, who represents the William Haggas team that is 42 per cent at Ayr in recent seasons and won this race two years ago with My Astra. Red Danielle handles any ground and could be ready to go following 205 days off.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Going update

The ground was described as good to firm, good in places on Tuesday afternoon and, with rain forecast on Wednesday, no watering will take place overnight. Clerk of the course Graeme Anderson said: "There's possibly six to eight millimetres through the day and it's looking pretty wet. If we get that we'll head back to goodish ground, if we miss it we'll be good to firm."

What they say

David Menuisier, trainer of Heartache Tonight
It seems the right race for her. My main question mark is regarding the going, but there's a bit of rain forecast. I'd prefer it to be on the soft side of good ideally. She ran a stormer in the Dahlia the other day over a trip that is a bit too short for her. The ground was quick as well and she was against fierce opposition. This time she's the highest-rated filly in the race and I feel the track and trip should suit.

Hughie Morrison, trainer of Mistral Star
She's a quality filly who deserves to win a stakes race. She's missed a couple of intended comebacks due to the weather, so this is the back-up. We hope there's not too much rain because she struggled last year when she ran on soft.

Cieren Fallon, rider of Red Danielle
She seems to have settled in well to the yard. She's a straightforward filly who's obviously consistent. I've been lucky for William [Haggas] since the start of the season and he won't be sending her up to Ayr for no reason.

Rossa Ryan, rider of Verbier
Her work at home has been good and she has matured from three to four. She wears a hood for the first time, which has been helping her quite a bit. Her form in maidens is rock-solid and it seems a very good starting point.
Reporting by Andrew Dietz

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