Mill Reef Leads Saturday Action

[Wandering Eyes]

In a lull between Doncaster’s Leger meeting and Leopardstown’s Irish Champions weekend and the upcoming Newmarket Gold Season and Arc weekend, Newbury provides the G2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef S. as Saturday’s feature. King Power Racing’s Mystery Power (Ire) (No Nay Never) looks to have the edge on proven form, having captured the G2 Superlative S. over seven furlongs at Newmarket July 13 and he had excuses for his subsequent flop when sixth of seven in the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood July 30. “He came back with a respiratory infection after his disappointing run at Goodwood and that took a couple of weeks to get over, but he is flying along now,” explained the owners’ racing manager Alastair Donald. “It looks a good opportunity and it doesn’t look the strongest Mill Reef.”

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Pierre Lapin (Ire) (Cappella Sansevero {GB}) has not been seen since his emphatic debut win over this six-furlong trip at Haydock May 24, while Mr Kiki (Ire) (No Nay Never) represents the form of Mums Tipple (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). Fourth and beaten around a length by that Hannon star on debut at Ascot July 26, he went on to score at Yarmouth Aug. 8 and trainer Michael Bell said, “The form of his debut run is working out very well and I thought he won nicely at Yarmouth. We’ve been happy with him since and I think he’s fully entitled to be there.”

Newbury’s G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup was established as an Arc Trial and carried that title, but it is far from that in its current form with connections of Desert Encounter (Ire) (Halling) using it to limber up the 7-year-old for his defence in the GI Canadian International. After smooth wins in the G3 Glorious S. at Goodwood Aug. 2 and Windsor’s G3 Winter Hill S. Aug. 24, he is the form of his life.

At ParisLongchamp, the G3 Prix du Prince d’Orange has attracted a John Gosden raider in the highly-regarded Dubai Warrior (GB) (Dansili {GB}) who takes on the Wertheimers’ Sept. 1 Listed Prix de Liancourt winner Soudania (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Intriguingly, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s Dubai Warrior still holds an entry in the Arc, the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. and G1 QIPCO Champion S.

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