Lavery makes Royal Ascot plan for Guineas runner-up Trainer Sheila Lavery is already eyeing a Royal Ascot trip with New Energy which finished second, at 40/1, to Native Trail (2/5f) in today's Tattersalls 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh. New Energy briefly challenged with a furlong to race in the mile Classic but failed to match the pace of length and three parts winner Native Trail. A €65,000 June breeze-up purchase, New Energy today collected €100,000 and following the race Lavery, whose ill-fated Lady Kaya finished second in the 2019 English 1,000 Guineas, said “I'm thrilled and it was just fantastic. “I'm delighted for John (Lavery, owner and brother) who has put so much money into it, and faith in me. “Billy (Lee) gave him a beautiful ride and the only thing is my heart goes out to Robbie Colgan, who would have been on him except that he got injured off a horse at my place a couple of weeks ago. He'll be back riding on Tuesday. “I was really looking forward to running him, he has run four times, won his maiden here first time but in the other races he hasn't been able to get a proper lead. In the Tetrarch he had to lead and we weren't quite sure exactly what we had. “Billy thinks he's still going to improve from that, because he'll have learned from that.” She added “we could always have dropped back to the Jersey (Stakes, at Royal Ascot) but we put him in the St James's Palace so why not live the dream. “He's bred by John O'Connor who also bred Lady Kaya.” Trainer Andrew Balding was also pleased with his third-placed Imperial Fighter, and said “he ran a smashing race. He probably, ideally, could have done with the ground even softer, but he is fairly versatile. I haven't heard any more than that. It looked like Ben (Coen) gave him a really good ride. "I was thinking we could go a mile and a quarter in the Hampton Court, but it depends. If Ben says a mile is his trip, he won't be going there."
