Silverhill Freya makes all in the Category One bet365 Empress Stakes final at Towcester

Silverhill Freya makes all in the Category One bet365 Empress Stakes final at Towcester

Irish raider Silverhill Freya broke well from T2 in the £10,000 to the winner Category One final, grabbed the rails and kicked for home and this was all over bar the shouting down the back straight. Silverhill Freya is strong on the bunny and once in the lead the Graham Holland-trained railer was not for catching. In recent weeks Silverhill Freya has impressed over the four-bend 500-metre trip at Towcester clocking 28.71 in the first-round and 29.05 in the semi-finals, these runs followed on from a trouble filled run in the Select Stakes at Nottingham where Freya finished sixth. 

Silverhill Freya makes all in the Category One bet365 Empress Stakes final at Towcester. Image - Riverside Kennels X

This afternoon it was all eyes on the break with the pacey Kevin Hutton-trained youngster Baroness Velvet on her inside in T1 and the Mark Wallis-trained pup Strike It Skye on her outside in T3. At lid rise Silverhill Freya pinged out and paced up well into the corner, she drove inside Yahoo Mareike who challenged from T4 and once in front Freya kicked for home and took the race at 8/15 by two and a half lengths in 28.79. 

Baroness Velvet ran a cracker from T1 for one so young. Following a moderate break, the February 2024 daughter of Glengar Bale paced up well and showed raw ability down the back to challenge. Look out for Baroness Velvet in the coming weeks. The Hutton kennel have a serious four-bend performer on their hands. Strike It Skye met trouble throughout and stayed on well to grab third, she looks a top prospect for the Wallis kennel. 

Pat Cooney from competition sponsors bet365 with Silverhill Freya and winning connections. Image - Pat Cooney X

Silverhill Freya went into the competition as the 7/2 second favourite behind New Destiny who was eliminated in the first-round. Following on from her impressive first-round victory Freya was cut into 10/11 by the sponsors but she again produced the goods with a dazzling display in the semi-finals. Strike It Skye a 6s chance at the start of the event and landed each way bets with her third place finish in the final. Baroness Velvet was on offer at 50s with the sponsors ante post and landed each way bets for those that saw the potential with the Hutton youngster.