Dry weather could work against Estrange reappearance David O’Meara is praying for rain ahead of stable star Estrange’s scheduled reappearance in the Lester Piggott Fillies’ Stakes at Haydock on Saturday. The Cheveley Park Stud-owned grey came out on top in this Group Three contest and the Lancashire Oaks on Merseyside last season, before finishing best of the rest behind Minnie Hauk in the Yorkshire Oaks during the summer. A tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was cruelly ruled out due to a dirty scope, after which she ran a fine race in second behind Kalpana in the Qipco British Champions Fillies &; Mares Stakes at Ascot. The Night Of Thunder mare has yet to be seen on the track so far this term and it looks unlikely she will get the cut in the ground she would prefer on her first five-year-old start. “She’s been training well,” O’Meara said. “Ideally for us, we need a drop of rain and not warm and hot all week, but we are very happy with how she’s going. “She wintered very well, she went back to Cheveley Park for a few months and came back in great order.”
