Beautiful Diamond aiming to sparkle in Palace House

Beautiful Diamond is out to shine bright and prove she can be a gem of the sprinting division when she returns in the William Hill Palace House Stakes.

The daughter of Twilight Son put a very respectable two-year-old season together last year, placing at Royal Ascot in the Queen Mary and finishing on a real high when claiming Listed honours at Ayr.

The only time she finished out of the money was at York over six furlongs and with connections deciding to campaign the filly over the minimum five furlongs for the time being, hopes are high that the Karl Burke-trained speedster can be quick out of the blocks on her reappearance.

“She ran a decent race at York in the Lowther, but just didn’t appear to get the six furlongs,” said Philip Robinson, racing manager to owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.

“We dropped her back to five furlongs at Ayr, where she went and won, and five furlongs seems to be her thing.

“This is obviously her first run of the season and we will see how she is. I think they are quite happy with her form, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and whatever she does, she will improve for the run.”

Vadream reigned supreme in this contest 12 months ago and Charlie Fellowes is keeping a close eye on the weather forecast ahead of her title defence.

The six-year-old denied subsequent Group One hero Live In The Dream when successful in this Group Three event and she should be fully firing again, having blown away the cobwebs with a pleasing third behind Adaay In Devon at Bath recently.

Fellowes said: “I was delighted with her run at Bath, she normally takes a run or two to get into gear, but I thought she did really well to finish third on ground that was a bit quicker than ideal. She just lost her track position a little bit and had to wait to make her run a bit longer than the front two.

“The winner has gone on and run a cracker in the Commonwealth Cup trial (Pavilion Stakes, Ascot) and all the signs are good – I would just love some rain.

“We’re getting something, it’s just how much we’re going to get. If it’s not enough, then she probably won’t run, there’s a race in France she can run in next weekend instead.

“She’s a really good filly with cut in the ground, as she proved last year, and we just hope one of the big ones comes up on soft ground at some point this year.”

Clive Cox’s Kerdos was another to feature in an early-season Listed event at Bath and the Lambourn handler is confident the four-year-old can take a step forward from finishing eighth behind Blind Beggar to continue the progression he made during his three-year-old season.

“He was a bit rusty at Bath, which was why we ran him,” said Cox.

“I’m really happy with him now and he appears to be happier on a drier surface than a wet track, with his Beverley Bullet performance from last year confirming that.

“His Abbaye run was super and I was over the moon with that, so I hope he is a stronger and improving type of horse in that division now he’s got that extra strength and year on his back.”

Charlie Hills won this two years ago with the Fitri Hay-owned Khaadem and is represented by the owner’s Mitbaahy this time around, with the five-year-old making a pleasing start for new connections when fourth over six furlongs here in the Abernant Stakes last month.

“I was really pleased with his run at Newmarket last month and hopefully he will come on for that,” said Hills.

“He’s back to five furlongs and he’s got some decent enough form at that trip. He’s got a lovely attitude and does everything right at home.

“Hopefully there could be some nice races to go for with him this year.”

Henry Candy’s Twilight Calls was a beaten favourite in each of the last two renewals of this race, with the track and trip winner out to snap a losing run that dates back to the spring of 2022.

Adrian Nicholls’ Tees Spirit has been a flagbearer for the Yorkshire trainer in recent seasons and returned to his best when striking in handicap company during the Craven meeting, while Seven Questions has finished in the top three in nine of his 12 starts and has always been held in the highest regard by George Scott.

The eight-strong line-up is rounded off by Julie Camacho’s Ayr Gold Cup winner Significantly, who returns to Pattern company for the first time in three years.

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