The fillies and mares take to the stage in the most valuable contest at Sandown on Saturday afternoon. Offering £85,000 in prize money, the Atalanta Stakes has provided a late summer highlight since the inaugural edition of 1960.
Initially a Listed class event, the improving quality of the field saw the race earn Group 3 status in 2012. A fine prize in its own right, several winners have progressed to bigger and better things, including One So Wonderful (1997), Dank (2012), Integral (2013), Persuasive (2016), Veracious (2018), and Saffron Beach (2021), who all went on to score at the highest level.
A favourite target for Sir Michael Stoute during his career, the Newmarket legend sits atop the all-time trainer’s table with seven wins. No Stoute runner in 2025, of course, but we do have a hugely competitive field of 14 runners.
Bolt to Boost Balding’s Championship Bid
Having finished second in the 2024 British Trainers’ Championship, Andrew Balding is in the mix once again in 2025. He will need a spectacular end to the season to reel in leader Aidan O’Brien, but has solid claims of matching last season’s finish. In a race in which O’Brien doesn’t hold an entry, this represents a free hit for Balding to claw back some of the deficit, and, in Blue Bolt, he may have the filly to do just that.
Sired by Blue Point, this Juddmonte filly only made her debut in April. Showing promise first time out at Southwell, she discovered the winning thread on her second start at Windsor. Backing that win up with an effortless success at Newbury, she landed the hat-trick in the Listed Coral Distaff over this course and distance in July. Arriving on an upward trajectory, she is the clear pick of the three-year-olds and currently heads the betting at a general price of 7/2. Balding has yet to win the Atalanta Stakes, but this may represent his best chance yet.
Haggas Entry Heads the Opposition
Another trainer yet to taste success in this event is William Haggas. This year, the Newmarket handler sends the intriguing Alobayyah into battle. This daughter of Ghaiyyath went into many a notebook when slamming the field on her debut at Yarmouth in October 2024. However, she hasn’t been seen at the track since.
A 312-day absence suggests she has had her issues, and the form of that Yarmouth Novice event hasn’t worked out particularly well. However, she could do no more than win in a canter that day, and the market suggests she is showing all the right signs at home. At a best price of 9/2, the Salhia Stud runner is second best in the market.
Cathedral to Provide De Foy with Landmark Success?
Kevin Philippart De Foy was appointed as the number one trainer to the powerful Amo Racing operation in July. The Belgian handler would have hoped for better than a 6% in his first month in the job, but month two has provided significantly better returns. With August almost at an end, De Foy has sent out six winners from 21 runners, representing an impressive 29% strike rate. The pick of those came at Newbury, where Hollywood Treasure caused a 16/1 shock to claim the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes.
Having registered a win at Listed level, De Foy now takes aim at the next rung up the racing ladder with the three-year-old Cathedral. Formerly based with Ralph Beckett, the Too Darn Hot filly won once in five outings for the Kimpton handler and posted several fine efforts in defeat. Only beaten by 2¾l in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, a repeat of that effort should see her go close on her first start for De Foy.
Best of the Rest
Despite his consistently excellent record with fillies, John Gosden has just one Atalanta Stakes win to his name. Nine years after Persuasive’s 2016 success, Gosden is represented by impressive Princess Elizabeth Stakes winner, Spiritual – fourth here in 2024 – and Cajole, who finished a length behind Blue Bolt in the Coral Distaff.
Arguably, the best piece of form in the race belongs to the Ollie Sangster-trained Flight. Things didn’t go to plan in the Irish 1000 Guineas or Coronation Stakes, but her earlier runners-up effort in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket gives her every chance as she drops down in class.
Will Blue Bolt continue her hot streak? Will Alobayyah prove worth the wait for William Haggas? Or will the prize head elsewhere? Tune in at 2:25pm on Saturday to find out – we certainly will be!
