Connections confident with Emulous Pat Smullen expects Emulous to run a "massive race" in the Windsor Forest Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday. The Dermot Weld-trained mare enjoyed a superb campaign in 2011, completing a hat-trick of Pattern-race wins with a brilliant performance in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown. She appeared to have lost none of her sparkle when making a winning return at the Curragh and with no concerns about the ground or track, Smullen is in confident mood ahead of her first visit to Britain. "I'm looking forward to riding her. She's a very good mare and won very well on her comeback start this year. I'm expecting a big run from her," said Smullen. "I don't know whether she's improved through the winter, but she doesn't have to really. "She won well the last day and if she can run to the form of the Matron from last year, she'd have a big chance. "She's adaptable ground-wise, so that shouldn't cause her any concerns. "It's a competitive field as you would expect, but she's a very straightforward filly and she should run a massive race." Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for owner Khalid Abdullah, told At The Races: "She worked very nicely the other day. Dermot was very happy with her, as was Pat. "She has a 5lb penalty and you never want to be giving away weight in top-class company, especially at Royal Ascot. "But she has a bit of class and I was terribly impressed by the way she won the Matron, so we're quite hopeful for her."
