Sharing Sharp in Royal Ascot Prep Work at Fair Hill

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner Sharing, who became a stakes winner last fall at Laurel Park, punched her ticket to Royal Ascot with a six-furlong breeze June 12, trainer Graham Motion said.

Under exercise rider Lauren Mendenhall, the 3-year-old daughter of Speightstown  was timed in 1:14 3/5 on the all-weather surface at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., working in company with 5-year-old mare Mrs. Sippy, a grade 2 winner.

"Everything's kind of falling into place so far. We said we wouldn't do this unless everything kind of fell into place, and she worked super this morning," Motion said. "I feel very good about everything, knock on wood, so far."

Bred in Maryland by Sagamore Farm, Sharing won the Selima Stakes in September in her third start, followed by the Breeders' Cup victory at Santa Anita Park. She opened her sophomore season by extending her winning streak to four races in the May 23 Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable.

Motion said Sharing will van from Fair Hill to Keeneland June 14, then board a morning flight out of Indianapolis June 16 to Newmarket, England, and run in the one-mile Coronation Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies June 20.

DAUGHERTY: Sharing Sets Her Sights on Coronation

The Motion-trained Miss Temple City ran fourth in the 2015 Coronation after winning the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. Motion hoped to follow a similar path but sidestepped to the Tepin with Maryland racing on pause until May 30.

"I was going to run her in the Hilltop at Pimlico, so when that didn't happen, that was the next best thing that could have happened a week later. It was like a little miracle when it came up, and she was ready to run. We had planned on running her the week before, anyway," Motion said. "And it also gave us a month to Ascot. Up until that point, we'd really given up on the idea. But once we had a race and we had an option, we kind of got back to thinking about it again, especially after the way she ran.

"Hopefully, she didn't take too much out of herself. I always worry first race off a layoff. I think sometimes they can take a lot of themselves, but she seems to have bounced back. I brought her right back to Fair Hill afterward, and she's kind of gone along, and I thought she breezed really nicely this morning."

Miss Temple City, a debut winner at Laurel in October 2014, went on to win three grade 1 stakes and more than $1.6 million following her trip to England and returned to Royal Ascot again in 2016 and 2017, running fourth in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes (G2) and 13th in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1), respectively.

2011 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Animal Kingdom was 11th for Motion in the 2013 Queen Anne after winning the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1).

"Miss Temple City ran in this race and ran a very creditable fourth after winning the Hilltop. This filly's credentials at this stage of the game are better than hers were at that stage of her career," he said. "Obviously, she went on to be a grade 1 horse, but at this stage, Sharing is more accomplished than Miss Temple City was."

Winning a race at Royal Ascot would mean a great deal to Motion, who grew up in Newmarket before coming to the U.S. and winning his first race as a trainer in America in February 1993 at Laurel.

"I hope I take my own personal feelings out of it. Obviously, I'd like to do it, but I want to be doing it for the right reasons. We're really not missing a grade 1 over here by going, so it kind of falls in the schedule," Motion said. "We're not going for the party because we can't go. We're going because we want to give the filly a shot against the best horses.

"To me, it's always about the challenge. I think sometimes in racing we spend too much time trying to duck other horses. Racing, ultimately, is about the challenge and seeing who's got the fastest horse. I think that's why we're doing it, and it's exciting."