Veracious takes Haydock victory on seasonal bow

Further top-level assignments await Veracious after the Group One-winning mare made the perfect start to her campaign with victory in the BetVictor British EBF Dick Hern Stakes at Haydock.

The daughter of Frankel finally delivered the Group One victory she had long promised in the Falmouth Stakes last summer, before finishing second in the Sun Chariot and fourth in the QEII in October.

Having been kept in training as a five-year-old, she was the 11-10 favourite to make a successful reappearance on Merseyside for Sir Michael Stoute and Ryan Moore – and got the job done in fine style.

Always travelling strongly under Moore, Veracious picked up well to grab the lead and had enough in reserve to hold the strong-finishing Posted at bay by three-quarters of a length.

Moore said: “I was happy with her. It was her first run for a while and she should come on for it. She did what she had to today.”

Chris Richardson, managing director for owner-breeders Cheveley Park Stud, nominated next month’s Matron Stakes at Leopardstown as a potential next port of call.

Richardson said: “It’s great to see her back. She’d wintered well and is a much stronger filly this year.

“She travelled through the race well and will come on a ton for the run, I’d imagine.

“We haven’t really discussed plans with Sir Michael yet. She has an entry in the Matron (September 12) and I’m sure things will fall into place once we see what the races are later in the year.

“The Sun Chariot is another potential target, so we’ll just see how everything unravels.

“I’m thrilled to see her produce such a good comeback run.”