Timepiece on course for York Racecourse's Middleton Stakes (From York Press)

Timepiece on course for York Racecourse's Middleton Stakes

12:01pm Thursday 26th April 2012 in Horse racing By Steve Carroll, Sports reporter

HIGH-CLASS mare Timepiece is on target to line up at York Racecourse in the £100,000 Betfred Middleton Stakes next month, connections have confirmed.

The daughter of Zamindar is among 21 fillies remaining at the forfeit stage for the mile-and-a-quarter Group 2 contest on May 17 – held on the second day of the 2012 Dante Festival on Knavesmire.

Trained by Sir Henry Cecil, Timepiece, pictured above, gained a first Group 1 success when taking the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket last July.

The five-year-old then went on to finish third to Goldikova at Deauville and second in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet over ten furlongs.

Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager to Timepiece’s owner Khalid Abdullah and York Race Committee chairman, said: “She is a scopey filly so we hope there will be some improvement to come this year.

"Sir Henry has been pleased with her and she will be campaigned mainly over a mile and a quarter as we feel this may be her best trip now.”

Nahrain, winner of the Prix de l’Opera. and Be Fabulous, who took the Prix Royal-Oak, are the other Group 1 winners left in the entry.

With £150,000 on offer, 44 horses have stood their ground at the late April entry stage of the Group 2 Betfred Dante Stakes, with Abdullah represented by Model Pupil, Starboard and the Sir Henry Cecil-trained trio of Stipulate, Wrotham Heath and Noble Mission, Frankel’s brother.