Zhukova Heads Pretty Polly Stakes

John Murrell's Zhukova, winner over males in the Man o' War Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park in her last outing, heads a field of 11 for the July 2 Pretty Poly Stakes (G1) at the Curragh in Ireland.

The 5-year-old Irish-bred mare by Fastnet Rock scored her first win at the top level at Belmont, tracking the pace before drawing off in the stretch over yielding turf. She defeated runner-up Taghleeb by six lengths, with Sadler's Joy, Charming Kitten, and Wake Forest in her wake.

Zhukova won a pair of group 3 events in 2016 and started her 2017 season with a victory in a listed race at Cork before the New York visit. The Dermot Weld trainee is out of the Galileo mare Nighttime.

The competition in the Pretty Polly includes Journey, a Dubawi mare out of the Montju mare Montare. Trained by John Gosden for owner-breeder George Strawbridge, Journey won the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1) in her 2016 finale and returned to finish fifth in the Investec Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom June 2—a race won by Highland Reel.

The field also includes South African mare Smart Call, winner of the J&B Met in her homeland in January of 2016. After enduring a long quarantine and training setbacks, she has run with enthusiasm in two starts this season, most recently finishing fourth in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot after leading most of the way.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien sends out Rain Goddess and Pocketfullofdreams, neither highly regarded in the antepost wagering despite promising recent runs.

O'Brien's son, Joseph O'Brien, will saddle Intricately, a Fastnet Rock filly who has not lived up to the promise she showed in beating stablemate Hydrangea in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) last September over the Curragh turf.

The Pretty Polly is contested over 1 1/4 miles for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.