Ascot not the aim for Woodcote scorer Teej A

Connections of Teej A are content to skip Royal Ascot with their Epsom champion, harbouring other big-race ambitions later in the season.

Trained by Karl Burke, the daughter of Mehmas followed up her impressive Chester success in game fashion in the Woodcote Stakes, keeping on to score by a length and a quarter over Ralph Beckett’s Megalithic.

However, she will not attempt to follow in the footsteps of owners Nick Bradley Racing’s previous Woodcote winner Oscula and will bypass the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot ahead of alternative targets both home and abroad.

Newmarket’s Empress Stakes and the Prix du Bois at Deauville are both options for Teej A to dip her toe into deeper waters, while her team are aiming for the progressive youngster to be competing in races such as the Cheveley Park Stakes on the Rowley Mile later in the season.

“At the moment I would like to go to the Prix du Bois, while Karl is eying the Empress and we’re going to discuss it soon,” explained Nick Bradley.

“I’m not going to take too many horses to Ascot and it is very hard to win there. Do I think she’s very good? Yes. Do I think she’s good enough to win at Ascot? Well, you genuinely know when you are going to win at Ascot, I have found in the past, and I haven’t got that feeling.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think she could go there and run a very big race, but I just think we’ll go somewhere else with a bit more confidence.

“I would much rather aim for a race like the Cheveley Park later in the season where it’s a Group One with around eight runners, whereas at Ascot there will be lots of runners. I think we will do the opposite to what everyone else does.”

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