Pearson has fingers crossed over rain for Sparks Fly’s Epsom bid

Laura Pearson is relishing getting back aboard her “lighthouse” Sparks Fly when David Loughnane’s stable star attempts to upgrade last year’s third in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom.

The 25-year-old has been aboard for 10 of the soft-ground loving six-year-old’s 12 career victories, including when scooping a career best Group Three in Saint-Cloud last October.

Now, with conditions forecast to suit, the jockey is dreaming of another moment to savour aboard her prized mount on Derby day.

Pearson said: “She’s the lighthouse in a bit of a shipwreck of a career of mine, but I always look forward to getting back on her.

“I hope the rain just keeps coming and she’s proved she can act on the track and it’s obviously quite a difficult track, but she handled it there last year and hopefully the rain will be in our favour.

“I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m just a passenger when I ride this horse which is probably why we get on so well as she doesn’t like being told what to do. I always leave it up to her as she knows better than me.”

Pearson was unable to employ preferred front-running tactics when Sparks Fly made the podium on ground described as good in this contest 12 months ago, with that result only giving further encouragement of a bold bid this time around.

She added: “We’re really excited for her to go back there and we probably didn’t expect her to run as well as she did on that ground last year which really surprised us.

“I didn’t manage to get to the front either last year and obviously she’s a front-running horse and wasn’t able to do that. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong in the race last year and yet she still ran a cracker to be third.”

Many eyes will be on Shes Perfect who has derived a huge following due to her exploits in France last year, finishing first past the post in the French 1000 Guineas only to have the race taken away in the stewards’ room.

Trainer Charlie Fellowes is expecting to see her take a step forward from her comeback third in Goodwood’s Listed Conqueror and is also eager to see if his inkling regarding ease in the ground suiting the daughter of Sioux Nation rings true.

“She couldn’t have taken her comeback run any better,” said Fellowes. “I’ve been very happy with her since and she’s a big, strong, strapping filly who has done very well from three to four.

“She was always going to need a run to really get fit and luckily we’ve had a clear run post-race heading into her second run.

“She’s incredibly versatile, but I’ve always felt that she’d be better with give underfoot. Sioux Nations tend to be a bit better with give and I think she’s no exception and she’s also out of a Galileo mare.

“Having said that, it was a road when she was first past the post in the French 1000 Guineas so it’s clearly not a hindrance either way, but my gut feeling was soft would always suit her, so the rain is of no concern to me.”

Also expected to improve from her comeback run is Andrew Balding’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf runner-up Pacific Mission who lacked for fitness when tiring quickly in her reappearance at York.

“I think you will definitely see a big step forward from York and she got very tired there,” said Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“She ran like that last year when we liked her a lot going into her debut and it turned out she wasn’t as fit as we thought she was.

“It was the same case and I think she will improve for that comeback run. Andrew says she did a good piece of work last Saturday and we’re looking forward to seeing her as long as conditions are fine.

“We probably wouldn’t want too much more rain for her and she showed at the Breeders’ Cup last year she is effective on fast ground. But if it came up somewhere around good I would hope to see an improvement on York.”

Balding will also have leading claims in the other Group Three contest on the card, the opening Betfred Tattenham Corner Stakes, where his Never So Brave reverts to what appears his optimum trip and the one over which he landed Group One glory at York last term.

Karl Burke’s Poet Master is another seven-furlong specialist in the line-up and could find conditions to his liking in the race formally known as the John Of Gaunt Stakes and redirected from Haydock.

Burke said: “He’s got form with cut in the ground, I don’t think he wants it too deep though.

“He’s been disappointing his last few runs. We’ve mixed things up with him a little bit and done a few different things with him and he’s moving really well and we’re very happy with him.

“I’m hopeful of a good run, but we’re going there more hopeful than confident.”