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16 Dec 2019

New Kids on the Champions Series Block: Quadrilateral

Quadrilateral is favourite for the Guineas and Oaks after winning the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket. Photo Ian Headington / Racingfotos.com

Horse: QUADRILATARAL

Trainer: Roger Charlton. Form: 111

Quadrilateral broke new ground for Roger Charlton when landing the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket last month as it was the first time Derby-winning trainer had won a Group 1 race with a two-year-old.

Charlton has never won an edition of the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, either, but perhaps the unbeaten daughter of Frankel will put the record straight for him on that front as well.

A winner on her debut at Newbury in August, the Prince Khalid Abdullah-owned filly doubled up at the Berkshire venue with a dazzling nine-length victory in September  – a performance which saw her promoted to ante-post favouritism for the Guineas on May 3, the second of 35 races in next year’s Champions Series.

Those Classic credentials faced a thorough examination on the Rowley Mile, after her connections had supplemented her for £40,000 earlier in the week.

Sent off at 9/4, she looked in trouble two furlongs out but once switched to the far rail, Quadrilateral ate up the ground under Jason Watson and kept on strongly to beat the Hugo Palmer-trained Powerful Breeze by a head.

Charlton said: “I don’t know if it was two out or even three out that I thought, ‘we’re not running well here. We’re coming off the bridle and it’s not going to happen’, but she kept responding and I thought she did really well to get there.

“I guess the gap was diminishing up the rail a bit, but she fought like a good one and handled the track. It was a great effort, really, as it was a proper race today.”

He added: “We don’t gallop the two-year-olds that hard, so when she won first time out she needed the race, but class won it for her.

“She then took us a bit by surprise when she won so easily last time. We didn’t learn that much and we hadn’t done much work since, but today was a proper test.

“The easier option was to go for the Oh So Sharp Stakes. I was a bit of a chicken really. It is not often you get good fillies come along and I thought, ‘hopefully she can win that and keep the dream open for May’, rather than taking on the best.

“But the management encouraged me to run her in this race and result was good.”

The dream is very much alive heading into the winter. Quadrilateral is a general 6/1 favourite for the Guneas and is no bigger than 10/1 for the Investec Oaks. Anapurna, another of Frankel’s daughters, won the Oaks this year.

Looking to the Guineas, Charlton said: “I guess we would probably come straight here without a prep run. She looks like she might stay further as she didn’t look like a short runner there today.”

Clearly a mile presents no problem and her pedigree offers encouragement that she will stay a mile and a half.

Frankel, who won nine Champions Series races, is proving a strong influence of stamina, while Quadrilateral’s dam Nimble Thimble won over an extended 9f (from only three runs) and her half-sisters include Ski Jump, successful beyond 2m.