Weld not rushing to make Tahiyra Classic call

Dermot Weld is in no rush to commit ante-post favourite Tahiyra to the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, with the Irish and French versions also under consideration.

A brilliant winner of the Moyglare Stud Stakes from subsequent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Meditate, she has led the betting for the Newmarket Classic for some time.

However, Weld has offered no assurances the Aga Khan-owned filly will turn up at Newmarket and will only be swayed by the well-being of the half-sister to Tarnawa.

“I’m very satisfied with her, she’s wintered well. We had a very dry February and then a very wet March, so I’ve taken my time with her but I’m satisfied,” he told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast.

“We’ve made no decision yet where she may start off. It may be the Irish Guineas, the French Guineas or the English Guineas but no decision will be made until later in the month, it depends on how she’s working.

“Some fillies come early in the season, some fillies take a little longer. It’s not a question of which Guineas (suits best), she’ll tell me when she’s ready.

“Horses grow their coat in the winter and in the spring they shed it. If you get a nice, mild spring obviously it happens quicker, but if you get a wet spring and cold weather, obviously they hold on to their coats a little longer and with fillies their performance is affected, it’s nature.

“I think she could well go 10 furlongs (later in the season). Tarnawa got a mile and a half – she won the Vermeille, the Breeders’ Cup (Turf) – but I’d say this filly has more pace, so we’d be happy over a mile at the moment.”

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