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3 Oct 2012

Dancing Rain on course to defend her Fillies & Mares crown

Dancing Rain will be looking to repeat her victory in last year’s QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

Dancing Rain was an impressive winner on QIPCO British Champions Day in 2011 when making all the running to land the inaugural £250,000 QIPCO British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes over a mile and a half.

The four-year-old Danehill Dancer filly, who also won last season’s Investec Oaks for trainer William Haggas, has been absent with injury so far in the current campaign but is firmly on course to defend her crown at Ascot on October 20.

Liam Norris, who purchased Dancing Rain and oversees the racing interests of owners Martin and Lee Taylor, revealed: "The QIPCO British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes is where we want to go with Dancing Rain and she is on target for the race.

"She had two small chips removed from both front fetlock joints earlier in the season.

"She came back to me after that and we nursed her back through. She did really well.

"She looks fantastic now and is a big, strong filly – much bigger than she was last year.

"We were going to go to York with her but she just had a couple of niggly muscle issues that shoved her back a little. We just had to go steady with her.

"We took her to Kempton last week and gave her a spin. She worked with Beaten Up and blew for 25 minutes afterwards so she needed it.

"But she is in good form now and we are keeping everything crossed that we will have her at Ascot on October 20.

"She might be a bit rusty but she likes the track and won the race last year."

Also among the 24 acceptors for the £250,000 QIPCO British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes are this season’s Investec Oaks heroine, Was, as well as impressive Irish Oaks scorer Great Heavens, who is a full-sister to Nathaniel, Princess Highway, who scored over the course and distance in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, and the in-form Wild Coco.

To view the full list of acceptors and race details, CLICK HERE.