Break on the cards for Heartache Tonight

Heartache Tonight will be given a break following her sixth-placed finish to Soul Sister in Betfred Oaks, with the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe her ultimate aim in the autumn.

The David Menuisier-trained daughter of Recorder has shown a penchant for softer surfaces in the past, but encountered quick ground for the first time in her career at Epsom.

Chris Wright owns the filly with Andy MacDonald and she is a half-sister to Wright’s dual Group One winner Wonderful Tonight.

Having finished a close-up fourth to Jannah Rose on her first attempt against Group One opposition in the Prix Saint-Alary at ParisLongchamp last month, the Pulborough-based handler was far from disappointed with her latest run under Cristian Demuro.

“I can’t say she didn’t handle the course or the ground, because she came down the hill beautifully and what have you. She is not jarred up or anything,” said Menuisier.

“She is like her sister – when they run on that ground, they don’t find the gears that do they when running on soft.

“They do quicken, but they don’t quicken as much as the rest of them. On soft they do find the gears, on this (good to firm) ground, you can’t say they don’t handle it, they are just a stone below. Cristian looked after her as well.”

Heartache Tonight will bypass Royal Ascot, where she holds an entry in the Ribblesdale Stakes, and will now be campaigned towards Europe’s biggest all-aged middle-distance prize.

“She won’t go to the Ribblesdale, she will have a mini-break and we will prepare her for the autumn,” added Menuisier.

“It’s always been the plan. The Oaks we needed to try, just in case. But we have always said she is a filly for the autumn really.

“The main thing we are focussed on is the Arc. She will have to prove she is worthy of that. She has always looked like she needs a mile and a half. She is bred for an Arc – and I’m due one as well!”

The handler’s Royal Ascot team will be a small one this year and much will depend on the ground, with recent runaway Nottingham maiden winner Mysterious Love under consideration for the Sandringham Handicap.

Menuisier said: “If they get a little bit of rain we might run her. We think she is a black type filly, but she wants slow ground, so we will have to be patient with her.

“It is a matter of being patient. It is too easy to do the wrong thing, especially at this time of the year. We could also potentially run Belloccio in the Duke of Edinburgh as well.”