Princess Royal, second only to Entisaar in the three-year-old filly merit ratings, has the Avontuur Cape Fillies Guineas on December 5 as her target.

Glen Kotzen said: “She is having a break at the moment and then I will prepare her for the Choice Carriers Championship on November 7. After that she goes for the Fillies Guineas.”

The Captain Al filly won first time out at Kenilworth and the East Cape Fillies Nursery at Fairview before finishing a length second to Entisaar in the Allan Robertson. She started favourite for the Golden Slipper on July day but managed only fifth to Chestnuts N Pearls.

At the time Kotzen felt that some of his horses just didn’t kick when asked to quicken but he now takes a different view with this filly, saying: “I don’t think she enjoyed Durban. However she has settled down beautifully after coming home and she has also grown so much.”

Princess Royal is a half-sister to Princess Victoria with whom Kotzen won both the Choice Carriers and the Fillies Guineas in 2011 while the Choice Carriers winner has gone on to take the Kenilworth classic five times in the last ten years.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Glen Kotzen