Haydock preview (15.25): Roxy has Star qualities

Roxy Star can take the step up into Listed company in her stride to provide trainer William Haggas with back-to-back successes in the Dick Hern Fillies’ Stakes at Haydock (15.25).

Haggas saddled Token Of Love to land the 1m contest 12 months ago, and Roxy Star has a similarly progressive profile.

The three-year-old is unbeaten in three starts, and looked a filly going places in the last of those when landing a competitive handicap at Ascot in impressive fashion.

After being held-up at the rear, Roxy Star found herself short of room two from home when making smooth headway before squeezing through a narrow gap and showing a smarty turn of foot to quicken clear.

The daughter of Fastnet Rock cruised home by 2 1/2 lengths, and the manner in which she put the race to bed suggested she was well worth a crack at this level.

With the stable in good form, Roxy Star can take this before going on to even better things.

Yasmeen has failed to build on an impressive debut success, but hails from the powerful John Gosden yard which does well at the track and may well emerge as the biggest danger.

The filly was backed down to 7/2 second favourite when winning a 17-runner maiden at Newbury, and her supports never had an anxious moment.

After showing plenty of pace to tracks the leaders and travelling powerfully throughout in the hands of jockey Paul Hanagan, Yasmeen showed a smart turn of foot when produced to lead entering the final furlong to scoot clear and score with far more in hand than the winning margin of two lengths suggests.

It was a performance which oozed class, and the form of the race has worked out well.

Yasmeen was the far from disgraced when a 1/2 length runner-up in a Listed contest at York, before finding Group 1 company too hot in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.