Nap of the Day: Reach for the Sky with Majesty

There are four cards in Britain and Ireland for punters to peruse on Sunday and we have Group-race action at Goodwood and Naas. The Naas meeting is where we have concentrated our attention for our Nap of the Day for Sunday, with a British-trained filly holding outstanding claims in the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes (15:25).

This contest has gone the way of many smart fillies and mares over the years, notably Cheveley Park winner Millisle in 2020 and Soffia, who captured this in 2019 before following up at the highest level in the Flying Five Stakes later in the campaign. Can anyone from this season’s line-up follow suit?

15:25 Naas Odds

If there is to be a Group 1 horse in the Ballyogan Stakes then it is surely SKY MAJESTY, who is taken to boost William Haggas’ already excellent record with his Irish raids.

Haggas is 2-4 this year in Ireland and 26 percent over the past five years with a level-stakes profit of £8.01 in that timeframe.

Sky Majesty proved herself over the Ballyogan course and distance with a three-quarters-of-a-length strike in the Yeomanstown Stud Stakes last time, giving jockey Tom Marquand a breakthrough victory at the track on his first ride.

The daughter of Blue Point, who goes on any surface, was always on top when defying a 7lb penalty in that listed contest to elevate her career record to an impressive four victories from six starts.

A Group 2 winner as a juvenile, Sky Majesty’s only defeats came at the hands of top-class sprinter Sayidah Dayiran in a conditions race on her return at Chelmsford in April and in Group 1 company for the Commonwealth Cup.

She shaped better than the result in the Commonwealth as she finished second of the six sprinters on her part of the track, while the form has been working out better than many would have expected at the time given the perceived dearth of talent in the division.

Fast Racing Results

Sky Majesty doesn’t have a penalty to worry about this time on her return to Group 3 company and she can take this small rise in class in her stride. With only a handful of starts to her name and proven form on testing ground, don’t be surprised to see her make up into a Champions Sprint contender at Ascot in the autumn.

The expectation is that she can improve further after only six runs, and the sprinters she faces here are generally a limited bunch.

Feared most is the classy California Dreamer, who chased home last season’s outstanding juvenile Lake Victoria in the Irish 1,000 Guineas earlier in the campaign.

California Dreamer hasn’t been able to match that level in two subsequent outings in the Jersey Stakes and Minstrel Stakes, but dropping back to sprinting may spark a revival as she hasn’t been seeing out her races over longer distances.

Nap Of The Day from Betfred Insights.