Towcester Sunday report - Freya the early Empress leader

Holland's Freya sets early Empress marker

Silverhill Freya was not able to show UK fans what she was capable of in the Select Stakes at Nottingham but she left Towcester's Sunday crowd in no doubt of her huge ability when absolutely bolting up in the opening round of the bet 365 Empress Stakes. Her 28.71 time was the best of the round, chased home by her kennelmate Bockos Sapphire.

The big shock of the opening round was the exit of the ante-post market leader New Destiny. Squeezed up heading into the opening bend, she was never going to get back into contention as Kevin Hutton's Baroness Bullet went clear. 29.52 was the winning time, with the winner only having the third run of her life.

It was another shock exit in the final heat with Fabulous Sonique unable to find a clear run either. It was another case of trouble early on with Lilys Bullet managing to get a clear enough run after a helpful slow start. Belinda Green's litter sister to Bombay Nutty is a strong stayer and she used that stamina to good effect late on to score in 29.59.

It was not all bad news for Mark Wallis, however. Strike It Skye is a relatively new addition to the kennel, only making her debut a month ago. She has now won three of her four starts, including a 27.86 run at Monmore last time out. Her 29.18 was the second quickest of the opening round times and given how few miles she has on the clock, she should have plenty more to come.

Just three spots slower was Signet Morgan for Heather Dimmock. She showed in the opening round of the Truframe Champion Stakes in June the quality that she has in the locker and she showed it here with a slick away and gone performance. 

The other heat went to Singalong Molly who made the long journey down from County Durham worthwhile for Dean Blackbird. A Derby quarter-finalist when in the care of Pat Buckley, she showed the suitability of this track and trip once more with a 29.49 success.