Calendar Girl could be booked for bigger things after taking Doncaster success

Saffie Osborne timed her run to perfection on Calendar Girl to deny Song Of The Clyde a big double in the Weatherbys Scientific £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes at Doncaster.

Having won a similarly valuable event at York, Clive Cox’s Song Of The Clyde set out to make all into a strong headwind under Rossa Ryan, but looked a bit of a sitting duck a furlong out.

Christophe Soumillon came looming up on Aidan O’Brien’s Brussels and it looked a matter of him just pushing the button. However, when push came to shove he found disappointingly little and it was Poatan who appeared the biggest danger, only for Song Of The Clyde to see him off too.

The leader had nothing left inside the final 50 yards when Osborne came flying on the Owen Burrows-trained Calendar Girl though, and she won by half a length at 7-2.

Burrows said: “It’s great she’s won a race like this as the prize-money is great and it has been the plan for quite a while now, but I think she’s pretty smart, so we wouldn’t just be trying to nail all these sales races.

“She’s a big girl and she’s only going to improve again next year. We’ll have a chat to the team (Kennet Valley Syndicates, owners) and see what’s what, but I’m thinking more of next year to be honest, and I think she’ll be a miler next year.

“Fair play to poor old Jim (Crowley, injured), when he won her at Newbury on her first run he said she was stakes class and he might not be too far wrong.”