Havana Sprite and Glorious Game dead-heat in Empress Fillies’ Stakes
Havana Sprite and Glorious Game could not be split in the Empress Fillies’ Stakes, and James Tate came away ready to step his filly into Group company.
Havana Sprite and Glorious Game hit the line together in the Empress Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket, producing a dead heat that left the Listed race looking less like a stalemate than a fork in the road for both fillies. The 6f contest for 2-year-old fillies was run on the July Course on good to firm ground, with eight runners and a winning time of 1m 13.41s, and The Can Can Queen was the one left chasing in third.
The result carried real weight for James Tate’s Havana Sprite, who had backed up a maiden win at Bath and now looks set for a sharper test. Tate’s filly had already shown enough on her fourth career start to persuade connections she belongs higher up the ladder, and the next target is likely to be deeper company if they decide to move her on quickly. In a division where the best juveniles can rise fast, a Listed dead heat is often the kind of performance that forces the conversation about Group races rather than merely inviting it.
Glorious Game arrived with a different profile but the same promise. Hugo Palmer’s filly stayed unbeaten after winning on debut at Windsor just 17 days earlier, and Palmer had already made clear she was well regarded. Her owner had flown in from America for that first run, a detail that underlined the expectations around her before she ever reached Newmarket. By the end of the afternoon, those expectations looked justified. She led and faced sustained pressure inside the final furlong before the judge could not separate her from Havana Sprite.
Newmarket’s meeting had already been pulled forward to a 10.45am start because of the heatwave, a reminder that the day’s most consequential race came with the practical pressure of a punishing forecast as well as the pressure of a tight finish. When the dust settled, the dead heat told the same story from both sides: Havana Sprite had proven she can mix it at Listed level after only four runs, and Glorious Game had shown that her unbeaten record was no accident. The next move for Tate’s filly will say whether this was the first step into pattern company, or simply the start of a longer climb.
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