'Ooh crikey, she's got a bit to do here' - Relief Rally rockets home for Tom Marquand and William Haggas

Catch her while you can. She may be a rocket but rockets tend to fall to earth pretty quickly and William Haggas fears that may be the same with speedy filly Relief Rally.

Haggas will make the most of the two-year-old's precocious talent before her contemporaries begin to get the better of her – which none of them was able to do in a thrilling finish to the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes.

Relief Rally had only one rival behind her entering the final 200 yards of the Group 2, her first try at six furlongs after three wins at five, including in the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury.

But there was never any danger of the longer trip blunting her speed and she showed a fine turn of foot to hit the front in the final 110 yards and give owners Simon Munir – on his first visit to York – and Isaac Souede their biggest win on the Flat.

"She's a rocket," said jockey Tom Marquand, who has been on board for all of the filly's five races and was always confident of success.

"They obviously thought she'd get the trip fine and I was really looking forward to it because over five she's got bags of speed for the last furlong but she gets caught a little bit flat-footed and then really goes and hits the line. Over six that didn't happen today.

"She had plenty to pass but they were all within a length, the field had condensed. She never had me worried, she was always feeling like she was going to go and really hit the line hard."

Relief Rally left it late to win the Lowther StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Haggas had not been quite so confident looking on and the trainer said: "You don't get much time in a six-furlong race to worry but I was thinking, 'Ooh crikey, she's got a bit to do here'. I was really impressed with the way she picked up. She had a good turn of foot."

But he is not at all tempted to put her away and hope that she can deploy that burst of speed against milers in the 1,000 Guineas next year. He suspects this will be Relief Rally's season and added: "It's difficult to know but I had a very similar filly a few years ago in Besharah who won this race and she didn't go on. It's hard, especially when they are small and they get caught up.

"So we don't want to get wrapped up in her being a fantastic three-year-old, this may well be her year, in which case we want to capitalise. But she's pretty good."

Outlining the likely strategy to make the most of the juvenile Relief Rally this autumn, Haggas said: "It is 50-50 she'll run under a penalty in the Flying Childers and then it will be the Cheveley Park or the Prix de l'Abbaye, we'll see what they want to do."

Marquand is understandably keen she goes for a race in which he will be able to make the weight and said: "Selfishly I hope she goes for the Cheveley Park because if she goes for the Abbaye I can't ride her!"

Runner-up Cherry Blossom could be more of a three-year-old prospect and trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “She ran a very good race. She’s still a little bit green and babyish but we’re very happy.”

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