Sweet Katarina is a two-year-old chestnut filly by Sergei Prokofiev out of the Mr Greeley mare Katalea and is trained by William Muir and Chris Grassick at Linkslade Stables.

Sweet Katarina has plenty of speed in her pedigree. Sergei Prokofiev was a high-class juvenile sprinter and has already made an encouraging start at stud while Katalea brings the influence of leading American sire Mr Greeley on the dam side. There is also a particularly lovely Coral Racing Club connection in the family as Sweet Katarina is a maternal half-sister to Katalyst.

The sisters, however, are certainly not carbon copies of one another. Whilst Katalyst has plenty of sass and very definite opinions about life, Sweet Katarina has so far been the gentler soul of the family. Kind, inquisitive and eager to please, Sweet Katarina has a wonderfully easy way about her and trainer Chris Grassick always speaks warmly about her lovely nature.

There is a bit of fire underneath that sweet exterior though. Sweet Katarina has plenty of natural speed and as her confidence has grown, we have started to see the more competitive side emerge. She takes everything quite literally in her stride and seems to learn quickly, approaching new experiences with an intelligence and willingness that should stand her in good stead as she progresses.

Sweet Katarina made her racecourse debut at Kempton in August before gaining further experience at Ascot in September, where she showed encouraging early speed. Her third appearance came at Nottingham on 1 October in a competitive Class 3 maiden over a mile. Taking on some talented and expensive fillies, our girl raced prominently for much of the contest before finishing a respectable fifth. It was her most encouraging performance to date and another positive step in her education.

Following those first three outings, Sweet Katarina was awarded an opening handicap mark of 69, allowing her to make her nursery handicap debut at Bath on 19 October. Stepping into Class 5 company over a mile, she travelled prominently in the early stages but found the closing stages more demanding and eventually finished twelfth. Although the result wasn't what we had hoped for, the experience will have taught her plenty and the softer ground may not have played to her strengths.

Sweet Katarina is a lovely, well-grown filly who still has plenty of developing to do. With four racecourse appearances now under her belt, Chris has decided to give her a well-earned break over the winter, allowing her the time she needs to strengthen and grow into her frame ahead of her three-year-old season.

There is so much to admire about this sweet-natured young filly. She has a wonderful temperament, plenty of natural ability and a lovely attitude towards everything asked of her. We are incredibly fond of Sweet Katarina and excited about what the future may hold as she continues to develop. For now, she can enjoy a thoroughly deserved winter break and we will be looking forwards to bringing our members more updates on her progress as she prepares for the next chapter of her racing career.