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Newmarket Guineas Festival 2010

Knight Positive About Eolith’s Prospects
25/03/10

StanJames.com 1000 Guineas entry Eolith can already include a Group 1 and Group 2 winner among her victims and her trainer William Knight is hoping she can further enhance her credentials in 2010.

Eolith, owned by Alison and John Ruggles, made a successful debut in a seven-furlong maiden on the July Course, Newmarket, last August.

She beat subsequent May Hill Stakes winner Pollenator by a short head with future Fillies’ Mile heroine Hibaayeb held a further two and three quarter lengths back in third.

Eolith then maintained her unbeaten record with a one length triumph in a seven-furlong conditions stakes on Polytrack at Kempton in September.

Knight said: “I was very pleased with her maiden at Newmarket. She won without having a hard race and the form couldn’t have worked out better.

“We then took her to Kempton for a conditions race which was the right race for her at the time. She won cosily giving weight to everything else and she showed that she’d made natural progression from her debut.

“I wanted to run her again last season but we met with a slight hitch and decided to put her away until the spring.”

Despite the smart appearance of her form, the daughter of Pastoral Pursuits can still be backed at 66/1 with sponsors Stan James for Sunday May 2nd’s fillies’ Classic on the Rowley Mile.

And Knight reports his charge to be in fine fettle approaching her likely seasonal bow at Kempton on Wednesday, 7th April.

The Sussex-based trainer said: “She was turned out for a couple of months at Westerlands Stud in Sussex and I think she has done really well over the winter. She is not overly big, being a neat compact type of three-year-old. She has definitely filled out and looks stronger.

“Since she has been back with us, she seems to be thriving and I couldn’t be happier and she is just where I want her to be at the moment.

“The plan is to head back to Kempton with her for a fillies’ handicap (over a mile) on April 7th. Rather than running at Newmarket or Newbury in one of the recognised Guineas trials in which she might have a hard race, she will hopefully have an enjoyable day out at Kempton that will bring her on.

“If that went well, we would then consider a racecourse gallop ahead of the StanJames.com 1000 Guineas.

“I’m not saying that she is a Classic horse at this stage as it is early days but she looks as if she has the potential.

“And if we did end up going to Newmarket with a ‘live’ chance on 1000 Guineas day it would be massive for a yard such as ours. As a trainer, that is what you dream about.”