Sea Of Class To Miss Middleton

[Wandering Eyes]

An elevated temperature earlier this month means that last year’s G1 Irish Oaks and G1 Yorkshire Oaks winner Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will miss her intended 4-year-old debut in the G2 Middleton S. at York on May 16, trainer William Haggas told Racing TV’s Luck on Sunday.

“She spiked a temperature about two weeks ago which we didn’t like,” Haggas said. “It was down within 24 hours, but a couple of markers on her blood weren’t great so we’ve had to give her a week off, which is why we’ll take her out of the Middleton on Tuesday.

“She’s essentially fine, she’s back in work and looks great. We think she’s improved a bit and we’re also delighted they’ve decided not to run Almond Eye [in the Arc this year].”

Haggas said he is keen to pitch Sea Of Class against the colts this year. The filly was second in last year’s G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe behind Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), beating Group 1-winning colts like Cloth of Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

“I’d love to meet [Almond Eye] some day, I was very impressed with her at Meydan, but I’m very keen to have a crack at the colts this year,” Haggas said. “It’s a bit softly-softly to go for all the Group 1 races for fillies. The other thing I want to do is bring her back in trip because I don’t think any race she won last year she won because she out-galloped them–I think she won because she was quicker than them.”

Sea Of Class’s first crack at the colts this year could come at Royal Ascot.

“I really want to go for the Prince of Wales’s, that’s my first one,” Haggas said. “I’ve discussed it with Mrs Tsui [owner], she’s up for it, naturally, so that’s what we’d like to do. Whether we get a run in first will be up to her, really.”

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