ALCOHOL FREE is looking increasingly likely to take on St Mark’s Basilica in a thrilling Juddmonte International.
Andrew Balding’s star beat the boys in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and now the trainer has his eyes on York.
With other options short on the ground, Balding hopes he and owner Jeff Smith will be enjoying some more fizz after what would be a third Group 1 of the season.
Balding said: “The plan is to leave her in at the five-day stage on Thursday.
“Then after that there will be another chat with Jeff, but as long as she’s fit and well I think that will be where we go.
“The trip is the big question mark, everyone knows that, but she’s come out of her race so well as she always does.
“If we’re going to find out whether she stays ten furlongs or not then why not do it now in another big race?”
The £1million Group 1 is shaping up to be a box office event with Aidan O’Brien’s antepost odds-on favourite St Mark’s Basilica the one they all have to beat.
Balding’s filly can still be backed at 14-1 with Coral, with fellow intended runners Mishriff 3-1 and Pyledriver bigger at 8-1.
The Kingsclere handler added: “The worst that can happen is we get beat, hopefully.
“It’s not like we have her stud value or an unbeaten record to protect or anything like that. She’s won three Group 1s already.
“It’s better to find out now ahead of next year what we could possibly do with her as well.
“People questioned at the start of the year whether she’d even stay a mile – I never had any doubt about that, I always had confidence.
“We know it’s going to be a good race, of course, it always is and hopefully always will be.
“But there aren’t many other options out there. Jeff has always been a very sporting owner and he would rather keep the horse at home than travel with the way things are at the moment.”
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