Inspiral team eyeing Lockinge comeback - and return to a mile and a quarter trip likely this year

Breeders' Cup winner Inspiral will return to a mile for her anticipated return next month but Cheveley Park's Chris Richardson said a return to ten furlongs could be on the cards for the six-time Group 1 winner. 

Inspiral stepped up in trip when storming to an impressive success in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in November at Santa Anita, where she saw off Warm Heart by a neck on her first start outside Europe. 

However, the five-year-old will drop back to a mile to contest the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on May 18 – for which she is currently the 2-1 ante-post favourite – in what could be her earliest start to a season, having began her campaign in June for the last three years. 

"The Lockinge is the plan," said Richardson, Cheveley Park's managing director. "She's a filly that likes to take her time to come into spring, as we've seen in the past, but certainly the Lockinge is the first engagement we'll consider. 

"If she tells us she's not quite ready then we'll have to wait. John [Gosden] was keen to start her off at a mile but we'll definitely consider a mile and a quarter going forward. She's a lovely filly and even at five is still maturing and developing."

Frankie Dettori celebrates Inspiral's success at Santa AnitaCredit: Edward Whitaker

Inspiral was denied narrowly on her debut last season when second to Triple Time in the Queen Anne Stakes and disappointed when last of five in the Sussex Stakes in August, but she returned to her best in Group 1 company in France before following up in the Sun Chariot and at the Breeders' Cup. 

A return to the US could be on the cards at the end of the year but Richardson is hoping to enjoy a strong domestic campaign before then, having reported the mare to be back in light work.

He said: "She had a good break after America and it's a long time in the paddock, so when she's back we'll really be able to enjoy it. 

"She's been out with all her usual companions and she's always very inquisitive, constantly looking to see who's coming round the corner next. She seems happy and well, and went up Warren Hill quietly the other day." 

While Inspiral's potential start date this season is in place, connections have yet to announce who will partner the superstar mare after being ridden in all bar one of her starts by Frankie Dettori, who is now based in the US. 

Read more:

Inspiral opens up 'other avenues' for 2024 after Breeders' Cup success in Filly & Mare Turf 

Inspiral times it to perfection under Frankie Dettori to run down Warm Heart in Filly & Mare Turf 

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