Lady Of Camelot redirected to the G2 Percy Sykes Stakes

Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot is scheduled to run in the Percy Sykes Stakes on Day 2 of The Championships after being scratched from the Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Lady Of Camelot will not be in one of the four Group 1 races but the Golden Slipper winner still shapes as one of the headline horses heading to Day 2 of The Championships at Randwick.

Connections of the prized filly opted to withdraw her from the Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes at Randwick on Day 1 of The Championships after 232mm of rain fell at the course in 48 hours leading into that meeting.

The filly has instead been redirected to this Saturday’s Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) for two-year-old fillies.

“She’ll run in the Percy Sykes,” Lady Of Camelot’s co-trainer Adrian Bott said after he watched Espionage win Saturday’s Kindergarten Stakes.

“It was just the heavy track today, that was all.”

Lady Of Camelot was taken out of the Sires’ Produce at 7.28am on Saturday, with official word the meeting was going ahead made a short time later.

An initial stewards inspection of the track around 6.30am on race morning noted that it was suitable for racing except for a section near the 1000m where there was water across the track due to a catchment overflow.

After monitoring that section the decision was made the course was safe to proceed with a Heavy (10) rating, with that section consistent with the rest of the track.olden Slipp

With sunny conditions appearing during the morning the course proper was upgraded to a Heavy (9) before the opening race and then to a Heavy (8) during the meeting, with Manaal taking out the Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Bott said Lady Of Camelot had come through her Slipper win in “awesome” fashion and indicated waiting for the Percy Sykes rather than running the filly in a testing 1400m on heavy ground – and without the benefit of hindsight – was the best option for her.

“A testing 1400-metres, we just felt she has done enough this preparation, we didn’t want to do anything wrong by her. She’s too valuable,” he said.

“And there was concerns at certain parts of the track when we were making those calls as well.

“…We obviously had to make the call at that stage prior to seeing the conditions on the day but it was probably a bit easier to make with a race like the Percy Sykes just around the corner for her as well.”

Lady Of Camelot is the $3.50 favourite in an all-in market for the $1 million Percy Sykes which is one of 10 races on Saturday’s program that features the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Sydney Cup, ATC Australian Oaks and Queen Of The Turf Stakes at Group 1 level.

Lady Of Camelot has won the Group 3 Widden Stakes and Group 1 Golden Slipper this preparation and was runner-up in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes in Melbourne between those Sydney victories.