Trainer Henry Dwyer has confirmed that his three-time Group 1 winner Asfoora will extend her final season campaign in England and will line up in the Group 3 Coral Charge at Sandown on Saturday.
Asfoora has done Australia proud on the international scene over the last couple of years, winning the 2024 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot (formerly the King’s Stand Stakes) … the 2025 Nunthorpe Stakes at York … and the 2025 Prix de l’Abbaye at Paris-Longchamp in France.
“She can go to Goodwood, but we can squeeze another one in between and, given it’s the last season she’s going to be running, there’s probably no point leaving anything in the locker,” Dwyer told Racing.com.
“Two weeks between Ascot and Sandown (on Saturday) and then three weeks to Goodwood is a nice little program,” said Dwyer.
The confirmed plan then is for Asfoora to run in the Coral Charge and then move on to the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood on July 31.
Pencilled in beyond that is a schedule which has Asfoora going into quarantine before heading back to Australia for the start of the breeding season.
However, Dwyer has left the door open to the possibility of allowing Asfoora to defend her Nunthorpe Stakes title should she win either the Coral Charge or the King George Qatar Stakes … a move which would obviously impact on her return date to Australia.
The 2026 Nunthorpe Stakes will take place on August 21 and, with a quarantine period to be served afterwards, it would mean that Asfoora will return to Australia with the breeding season already under way.
Fourteen runners are due to face the starter in the Coral Charge on Saturday where Asfoora, who will be ridden by Oisin Murphy, is the current race favourite at $3 according to leading betting apps Australia, ahead of the Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin runner Words Of Truth who is next on offer at 7-2 with bookmakers.
