Sweet Katarina impresses on her final start before being awarded a handicap mark
02 Oct 2026
Sweet Katarina put in her best performance to date at Nottingham on Thursday, finishing fifth over a mile in a Class 3 contest.
It was always going to be a tough contest for Sweet Katarina on her third start, lining up against a heavy odds on favourite in the shape of Thi Qar, who was a 260,000 guineas purchase as a yearling, as well as an 80,000 purchase, Empress Jingu and a Royal runner, Avebury Ring. Ultimately it was no surprise to see her finish behind those three, but having raced prominently for the majority of the contest, and getting several of the horses in behind her off the bridle earlier than they would have expected, was highly encouraging for our young filly's prospects. The early speed that she showed was reason to be excited for the future of Sweet Katarina, with potential options down in trip at seven furlongs being on the table now, as well as the mile that she's tackled in her last two appearances. It was also encouraging to see her hit the line so well, despite being passed by other horses in the closing stages, as it shows her focus on the task at hand remains, where some horses might start to slow down further whilst dropping back in the field.
WATCH: David Probert impressed by Sweet Katarina's run at Nottingham
Her fifth place finish represents a good level of improvement for our two-year-old and she's come out of the race really well and trotted up fine this morning back at Linkslade Stables with the Muir & Grassick team. All eyes are firmly on next Tuesday now as we await her opening handicap mark following her third run, which will decide the route that Chris Grassick will take with her going forward.
WATCH: Chris Grassick lays out some potential plans for Sweet Katarina's future and thinks a victory as a two-year-old could be on the cards
We're certainly set for an exciting end to the year with Sweet Katarina, and it all starts on Tuesday as her opening handicap mark gets announced. Plans will begin to be formulated following the announcement of her mark and we'll be back with an update from Chris Grassick on the day when the future becomes clearer off the back of her handicap review!
It was always going to be a tough contest for Sweet Katarina on her third start, lining up against a heavy odds on favourite in the shape of Thi Qar, who was a 260,000 guineas purchase as a yearling, as well as an 80,000 purchase, Empress Jingu and a Royal runner, Avebury Ring. Ultimately it was no surprise to see her finish behind those three, but having raced prominently for the majority of the contest, and getting several of the horses in behind her off the bridle earlier than they would have expected, was highly encouraging for our young filly's prospects. The early speed that she showed was reason to be excited for the future of Sweet Katarina, with potential options down in trip at seven furlongs being on the table now, as well as the mile that she's tackled in her last two appearances. It was also encouraging to see her hit the line so well, despite being passed by other horses in the closing stages, as it shows her focus on the task at hand remains, where some horses might start to slow down further whilst dropping back in the field.
WATCH: David Probert impressed by Sweet Katarina's run at Nottingham
Her fifth place finish represents a good level of improvement for our two-year-old and she's come out of the race really well and trotted up fine this morning back at Linkslade Stables with the Muir & Grassick team. All eyes are firmly on next Tuesday now as we await her opening handicap mark following her third run, which will decide the route that Chris Grassick will take with her going forward.
WATCH: Chris Grassick lays out some potential plans for Sweet Katarina's future and thinks a victory as a two-year-old could be on the cards
We're certainly set for an exciting end to the year with Sweet Katarina, and it all starts on Tuesday as her opening handicap mark gets announced. Plans will begin to be formulated following the announcement of her mark and we'll be back with an update from Chris Grassick on the day when the future becomes clearer off the back of her handicap review!
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