Senorita Bonita camp happy to put a line through Cheveley Park no-show

Connections are already looking towards next season with Senorita Bonita after “nothing obvious” came to light following her below-par showing in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.

Simon and Ed Crisford’s talented youngster was part of an all-star showdown with Sun Goddess and Libertango on the Rowley Mile, but the Prix Morny heroine was the only one of the big three that failed to fire, finishing a disappointing fifth of six.

The daughter of Starspangledbanner was given a full MOT and blood tests in an attempt to highlight any cause for a first underwhelming run of her career, but her team are now inclined to put it down to a rare “off day” and will now regroup ahead of her three-year-old campaign in 2027.

Chris Wall, racing manager for owners Victorious Forever, said: “Nothing obvious has come to light, which is frustrating on one hand but equally good news on the other.

“I just think she had an off day, she did blow harder afterwards than you would expect and that certainly wasn’t down to her levels of fitness as she had done plenty of work going into the race.

“It just wasn’t her day, which is a shame, as we know she is a good filly in a strong division and it would have been nice for her to show how good she really is. I think we would have been more involved if she had run her race.”

Senorita Bonita, who commanded 900,000 guineas at the Craven Breeze-Up sale, will now take a well-earned winter break having won three of her five starts to date, with her only other defeat coming when second to Victorious in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot.

And having shown plenty of zip at two, her future may lie in the sprinting division when she returns next season.

Wall added: “We’ve plenty to look forward to next year with her. We’ve got a Group One in the bag and it wasn’t as if we had to win this one.

“She’s gone into winter quarters now and we’ll give her plenty of time and see how she’s training next spring.

“I think she’s a filly with a lot of speed and I think it is more likely she will go down the Commonwealth Cup route rather than the Guineas route, but as we all know in this sport you must never say never, so anything could happen.”