Lake Victoria ‘really coming’ in Newmarket fitness race

Aidan O’Brien has offered fresh hope that his unbeaten filly Lake Victoria will be ready to make her reappearance in the Betfred 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The daughter of Frankel carried all before her as a juvenile last season, winning each of her five starts including Group One victories in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, the Cheveley Park Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Last month, O’Brien cast doubt over whether Lake Victoria would be fit enough to head for the first fillies’ Classic of the season, but speaking at a Jockey Club-organised press morning on Monday, he appeared more optimistic that she could either join or even replace stablemate Exactly on the Rowley Mile early next month.

“Exactly has had a run, so the plan would be to go (to Newmarket) with her, and Lake Victoria is on the way back. We stepped her up a couple of weeks ago and she’s really coming – she could be there in time,” said the Ballydoyle handler.

“If she wasn’t, she could go to the Curragh on the Monday (Athasi Stakes), but it’s very possible that she could be there in time and if that happened Exactly could go to the French Guineas instead.”

A filly O’Brien has high hopes for over longer trips this season is Dreamy, who won her first two starts before being beaten into fourth place by 1000 Guineas favourite Desert Flower in the Fillies’ Mile in October.

The daughter of American Pharoah is a general 25-1 shot for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom in June, but O’Brien said: “Dreamy is probably a filly that could be an Oaks filly and she’s a very big price.

“She’s a real mile-and-a-half filly, probably a dark filly and she could go to Chester or York for one of the trials.”