Luck favours a bold adventure
GNARWARRE breeder Anthony Mithen and Anakie trainer Mark Young will dust off their top hats as they prepare to take unraced filly Luck Favours on a Royal Ascot adventure.
The two-year-old is set to board a plane to England on June 6 after Rosemont Stud’s connections committed to European plans yesterday.
Luck Favours, by Starspangledbanner, is a European twoyear-old and can race in the northern hemisphere until January at that age.
She is likely to make her debut in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot before a decision is made on her future.
“It was a mad old plan that now looks like it will come to fruition in a couple of weeks,” Mithen said.
“Starspangledbanner was crook and couldn’t travel back and we got him better and I was scratching my head with what we could do with him. I thought maybe we could cover a few mares in northern hemisphere time.
“I thought it would be nice to have something that had a chance to go up there and if we owned it and bred it, then it would be even better. It was fanciful at the time but we ended up with seven foals.
“Luck Favours has kept improving and improving, and kept up with the work. I spoke to Mark this morning, she is well, she has pulled up well from her trial and we have decided why not go?”
Young will prepare her for the English campaign and is not bothered about the pressure that comes with racing on the big stage.
“It doesn’t impress me that much,” Young said of seeing his name in the racebook at Royal Ascot.
“It’s more about how it started. The boys sat down when they did their mating and thought about this sort of thing.
“There’s a lot that can go wrong with young horses. When you think about what’s gone into this then that impresses me (more than having a runner at Royal Ascot).”
If Rosemont Stud decides to keep Luck Favours in England then she will move into the care of Martyn Meade.
She has been seen in public twice, completing two trials at Cranbourne this month.
Mithen said the filly had always shown ability.
Young said he would keep Luck Favours ticking along before she boarded the plane with David Hayes-trained Redkirk Warrior.
“She is six months behind our two-year-olds. We will just keep her happy,” he said.