Time Makes Her Mark

Passage Of Time made a winning start to her Classic campaign when lifting the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes at York.

Henry Cecil´s filly is the ante-post favourite for the Vodafone Oaks but Sweet Lilly looked set to make her work hard for victory at one stage.

However, when Richard Hughes gave the 5-6 favourite a crack of the whip, she stayed on to hold the second a shade comfortably at the line.

Sues Surprise set the early pace, with Hughes content to settle in second and let Passage Of Time find her own rhythm.

Turning for home she was still travelling extremely well and moved easily upsides Sues Surprise and Shorthand two furlongs out.

Hughes shook up the favourite coming into the distance and although she looked set to power away, Sweet Lilly proved most game and pushed Passage Of Time all the way to the line before going down by a neck.

VC Bet were suitably impressed with Passage Of Time´s performance and now offer 9-4 from 3-1 about her Epsom chances.

Hughes told Channel 4 Racing: 'That was very nice and I´m very pleased.

'It´s a tricky situation. If you make all she´s fine, but when you go by the lead horse she pulls up.

'At the same time I wanted to kick on three out because they weren´t going that fast, but at the same time I can´t go by the lead horse because she´s going to pull up.

'As soon as Jamie Spencer´s filly (Sweet Lilly) got close she found a bit and won easy on the line.

'She´s got everything. She´s goes on any ground, she stays and she´s not slow - what more do you need?'

Cecil, winning his eighth Musidora, said: 'She´s cantering then she quickens up to win and thinks she´s done enough. When the other horse came to try to get her she came back on the bridle at the end.

'She´s like that in her work at home. She thinks she´s done enough. It´s frightening to watch, but I think it was a bit better than it looked.

'She´s well balanced and travels very well. You can put her where you like.

'The first time she won at Newmarket she only just got up, the second time she won a Listed race by eight lengths and she won well in France from a bad position.

'I have trained her for the Oaks and hopefully now she´s had a race she´ll come right. I thought she just needed the race.'

Connections revealed last Friday that Passage Of Time had been troubled by a small throat abscess and Cecil added: 'I was always a bit worried about the abscess in her epiglottis because they can be a nuisance. It´s not bothering her, but they can rear their ugly head.

'I´m hoping to make the Oaks then we´ll have a look and see if we have to take the abscess out which would put her out for a month. We´ll see how we go.'

Bruce Raymond, racing manager for Sweet Lilly´s owner Jaber Abdullah, does not anticipate the filly reopposing at Epsom.

He said: 'She ran really well, but I doubt she will go for the Oaks.

'I don´t think she would have stayed any further. Jamie said if they had gone a stronger gallop it may have helped her, but I felt the winner was holding her at the end.'

(C) PA Sport