Sir Park Prescott set to step Rouge Sellier up in grade. © Photo Healy Racing
Sir Mark Prescott’s Rouge Sellier is set for a black-type assignment next following her 15-length victory at Kempton.
Third on her two outings last year, including behind the smart Indelible at Lingfield in November, she was reappearing following wind surgery and a 242-day break.
The result was never in any doubt, with Luke Morris able to let her coast home through the last half a furlong once he had afforded himself the luxury of a look over his shoulder, with the half-sister to Group One winner Lumiere already a long way clear.
“We felt that she had a chance of winning, but none of us saw that coming,” said Prescott.
“She was edgy enough earlier in the year and took a lot of settling, so in her work, which was very good, we just made it easy for her. I would have been relieved to make a winner of her, but I didn’t expect her to win like that.
“Obviously she’ll step up into black-type company next time. Any horse that wins like that, you have got to take notice, but the time was only similar to the other division.
“As always when you are riding one of those, you don’t think you are going as fast as you are, so Luke didn’t realise how far clear she was.
“Let’s hope she’s all right. Being a Lope De Vega, she won’t want the ground too firm, so I may have to be patient – and her American owners have been already, in truth.
“We’ve got lots in mind; there’s a race in France, there’s the Aphrodite, there’s a whole lot, but she will be ground dependent. I’ve got a big, long list, but it’s which one to go for.”
Prescott enjoyed his first Royal Ascot winner since 1996 when Pledgeofallegiance won the Ascot Stakes and having resisted the temptation to run him again quickly in the Northumberland Plate, Glorious Goodwood now beckons.
“He’s been fine, he’ll probably go to Goodwood for the marathon handicap and if, if, if, he will run in the Cesarewitch and that will be the lot, we only intend to run him twice more this season,” he explained.
