Holding out for Hiroo: why Chantilly-based Shimizu is aiming 66-rated Princess Anne at the Henry II Stakes

There may be more than a few raised eyebrows at the presence of Princess Anne in the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes (7.12 RUK), a first runner in Britain for Chantilly-based Hiroo Shimizu.

The five-year-old daughter of Anodin was last seen running down the field in a Longchamp handicap over a mile and a half and has an official handicap rating in France that equates to just 66. 

But Shimizu – whose international outlook has produced good results at the Dubai Carnival with horses such as Pevensey Bay and Nisreen, and who saddled Fall In Love to be fifth in last season's Prix de Diane at odds of 75-1 – does not expect Princess Anne to be out of place in a race he and owner David Baker pinpointed some time ago.

"She stays well but absolutely must have a good pace to run at, which is something you would normally expect to get in Britain," said Shimizu. "They don’t go so fast in France and she can pull quite hard. 

"She has a huge amount of stamina, which is why we entered her in the Gold Cup, and I’m sure she will get 4,000 metres [two and a half miles]. But she doesn’t have a high enough rating to get a run in the Gold Cup, so we're running here in an attempt to 'qualify' her for Ascot."

Hiroo Shimizu saddled Fall In Love to be fifth in last season's Prix de Diane

In common with all Group 1 races in Britain, the BHA requires a minimum rating of 80 before a horse is allowed to line up in the Gold Cup. 

"It’s a first ride in Britain for Jules Mobian and she'll be my first runner there too," said Shimizu, who moved from Japan to France with no real background in racing and learned his trade with Fabrice Chappet and his current landlord, John Hammond. "My client is Australian but lives in Newmarket and that also helped decide on where to run.

"I didn’t even enter her in the Group 2 at Longchamp next Monday because we had already decided that Sandown was where she was more likely to get a well-run race." 

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