Asfoora settles in well for Royal Ascot target

[Chief Stipe]

Dwyer's Asfoora UK surprise

www.racing.com

Henry Dwyer admits that he's been pleasantly surprised by the way his mare Asfoora has handled the arduous journey from Ballarat to Newmarket in England as she bids to defend her title in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot in a fortnight.

"She has settled in better than we could have hoped, to be honest," Dwyer said.

"She just walked in the gate, she knew where she was.

"She's very much at home there in her little yard. It was weird, the trip didn't really seem to take anything out of her; obviously, a trip to Sydney on the road and then 32 hours on the plane and three stops, the rest of it, but she was really bright the next day and ate up.

"She's just obviously a very good traveller now."

 

 

Dwyer explained that the original intention was to have Asfoora fit upon her departure from Australia to the United Kingdom to allow her a week of recovery from her travels, but the speedy mare was out and about at Newmarket on Tuesday morning.

"She had a saddle on this morning," Dwyer said.

"I get there on Thursday morning, so I might do a bit of work with her on Friday morning."

 

Asfoora is likely to face a similar field to what she defeated at Royal Ascot in 2024, in a year where she's the only horse making the trip from Australia to England and where there isn't an emerging young, local sprinter.

"The pool of horses seems relatively similar to last year," Dwyer said.

"The market's got us, Believing and Regional all right up there and they're the same three horses that ran three of the top-four placings last year. You'd think if she turns up in the same order as last year, she's going to be incredibly hard to beat.

"I'm not saying she will, but she seems to have travelled well and everything seems in order, so I don't really know why she wouldn't."

Sportsbet has Asfoora on the second line of betting at $7.50 for the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17.