'She was the best filly in the race' - Manaafith too strong for Southwell rivals

Sunday: Southwell

Highfield Princess burst through from the fillies' and mares' division in last season’s All-Weather Championships to take the turf by storm, and the same sector may well have thrown up another high-class performer for this year in Manaafith.

Admittedly, it is not an entirely balanced comparison, given Highfield Princess is a triple Group 1 winner and Manaafith has not yet scored above Class 2 level, but Shadwell's four-year-old homebred was by far the best in the 7f fillies’ conditions stakes that headlined the card.

A starting price of 8-15 reflected her perceived authority over her rivals, and she never looked in danger as she sprinted past pacesetter River Pride before holding off the late challenge from Aramis Grey to win by three-quarters of a length and record a fifth win from as many starts on the all-weather.

Manaafith secured herself a spot in the fillies' and mares' final at Newcastle on April 7, and jockey Jim Crowley told Sky Sports Racing: "She seems to enjoy the surface and it was a nice confidence-boosting win again as it wasn’t too difficult.

"For me, she was the best filly in the race and I rode her like that. I think Newcastle could play to her strengths as well."

Manaafith’s win made it a good start to 2023 for trainer Roger Varian, who enjoyed a personal-best year in 2022 with 140 winners on the Flat in Britain – plus a bumper victory at Fakenham – and more than £3.6 million in prize-money.

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