Marco Botti believes Alfajer will be ideally suited by the seven and a half furlongs of the Listed Prix Miss Satamixa (25 entries) at Deauville, France, on Sunday, December 27.
The winner of the French race on Polytrack is guaranteed a free start in the £150,000 32Red.com Fillies & Mares' Championships over seven furlongs at Lingfield Park on All-Weather Championships Finals Day, Good Friday, March 25, 2016. Alfajer was third to stable companion Pelerin in a seven-furlong Listed race on turf at Ascot in October and has since had two starts in Fast-Track Qualifiers. The three-year-old daughter of Mount Nelson finished strongly to take sixth behind Lamar (James Tate) in the mile Listed 32Red/ebfstallions.com Fleur De Lys Stakes on Polytrack at Lingfield Park on October 29 and came third to the same rival in a conditions race over seven furlongs on Tapeta at Wolverhampton on November 27. Botti said today: "Alfajer seems in good form and the plan is to go over to France for the Prix Satamixa. "She looked a bit unlucky at Lingfield and I was expecting a better performance at Wolverhampton, although things didn't really pan out there either. "I think seven and a half furlongs could prove to be her ideal trip and she should be really competitive. "Although she has not won a lot, she has improved all through the year. It was good to get some black type and hopefully she will be good enough to pick up some more. "The plan is to give her a break after this and then go for the fillies' race on Good Friday. She will probably have a couple of runs in the spring and then be retired." There are eight British-trained entries in all, including Don't Be (Sir Mark Prescott), winner of Listed Coral Quebec Stakes at Lingfield Park on December 19, and Pack Together (Richard Hannon), who is owned by Her Majesty The Queen. The home contenders include Group Three scorer Ameenah (Frederic Rossi) and Sea Front (Eric Libaud), who was third in a Listed race over the course and distance last time out. Fresles took the spoils last year and went on to win the £150,000 32Red.com Fillies & Mares' Championships on Good Friday. Her trainer Pia Brandt could be represented by Malka, a Group Three runner-up at San Siro, Italy, in September.
