More Newmarket Gold Upcoming

[Wandering Eyes]

On Saturday, Future Champions Day will see Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal) carry out the seemingly-straightforward task of taking an unbeaten run into the winter in Newmarket’s G1 Darley Dewhurst S. and Godolphin’s juvenile supremo will face eight rivals in Britain’s premier race for the age group. Before then, Friday sees the G1 Fillies’ Mile further aid the establishment of the pecking order among that sex, with TDN Rising Star Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) the likely favourite over another of Jessie Harrington’s dynamic brigade in Cayenne Pepper (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Ballydoyle’s Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the locally-trained Powerful Breeze (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}). All four have something to lose in terms of reputation and gravitas in what should prove a fascinating tussle over the Rowley Mile.

Quadrilateral has that “Frankel factor” which always elicits a powerful vibe, especially over this hallowed ground that her sire chose for perhaps his greatest exhibition of other-worldly prowess. Her two wins at Newbury in a seven-furlong maiden on good-to-soft Aug. 16 and in the “Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises” Conditions S. over the same course and distance Sept. 20 offered benchmarks of progress in a relatively short space of time. While her debut display was taking, her subsequent nine-length success in a contest which often draws at least one filly of significance set her apart.

Supplemented at the weekend, Juddmonte’s relative of the former Roger Charlton star Three Valleys (Diesis {GB}) will answer some questions for connections on Friday. “After consultation with connections, Prince Khalid felt he wanted to let her take her chance in a Group 1 race,” that trainer said. “I think we’re going there riding on our reputation a little bit–we don’t really know what we beat and we’re taking on the best fillies in Europe, in my opinion. Cayenne Pepper and Love represent the best form around, in my view. Whether we deserve to be favourite ahead of those, I don’t know, but the race will tell us where we stand. I’d imagine by Friday the ground will be on the slow side of good and it’s drying out all the time.”

After the top-level wins of Cayenne Pepper’s stablemates Millisle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Albigna (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in the Cheveley Park and Marcel Boussac, it is up to Jon Kelly’s unbeaten Aug. 30 G3 Flame of Tara S. scorer to continue the sequence here. Jessie Harrington is happy that she has the right material to play a strong hand. “She’s done everything right so far and she’s had a nice bit of time since her last run. I’ve been very happy with her since she ran at The Curragh and we’ll see how we go. She’s got to travel over and everything, but she’s a pretty laid-back filly so hopefully she’ll be okay. She’s a well-balanced individual who has won on a variety of tracks, so the dip shouldn’t be a problem either. We have always liked her and she’s won on good ground and fast ground and with a bit of ease in the ground at The Curragh last time.”

Aidan O’Brien is so far the only trainer to deny Harrington a clean sweep of the all-filly Group 1 races for 2-year-olds, with Love taking advantage of Albigna’s downtime in the Moyglare Stud S. at The Curragh Sept. 15. That was over seven furlongs and connections have made no secret of the fact that they expect improvement over a mile, a point which is not lost on Powerful Breeze’s trainer Hugo Palmer. “I think it’s remarkable that a Group 1-winning, Aidan O’Brien-trained and Ryan Moore-ridden daughter of Galileo isn’t favourite,” he said. “I think she’s the one we’ve all got to beat and whoever beats her will win.”

Dr Ali Ridha’s Powerful Breeze beat Boomer (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G2 May Hill S. over this trip at Doncaster Sept. 12 and has also been supplemented. “I’ve been very happy with our filly since Doncaster. As is often the case with these things, it’s the avoidance of things going wrong rather than things going right and she’s had a smooth preparation,” Palmer added. “It’s the end of the year and you never know what can happen, but she’s won a Group 2 and a Group 1 is the obvious next step, albeit a big step.”

Prior to the Fillies’ Mile, three other pattern races build nicely to the crescendo with the opening G3 Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis S. seeing the operation involved in the initiative well-represented. The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Platinum Star (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) looks the form pick of a trio, but the unbeaten Charlie Appleby-trained Lazuli (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is an intriguing contender in this five-furlong test. Platinum Star, who was runner-up in the Listed Windsor Castle S. over this trip at Royal Ascot June 19 and in the six-furlong G2 July S. on the other course here July 11, is back for the first time since winning the Listed Ripon Champion Two Yrs Old Trophy with authority staying at six Aug. 29. “Platinum Star won nicely last time out and came out of the race in good form,” bin Suroor said. “This is a step back up in class, but he shows plenty of speed in his races and should be fine over five furlongs.”

Lazuli drops to five for the first time, having scored over six in a novice contest on the July Course Aug. 2 and a Doncaster conditions event Sept. 11. “We have been pleased with Lazuli’s first two starts and feel that the drop back to five furlongs is going to suit, especially at a stiff track like Newmarket,” Appleby commented.” Richard Hannon saddles a strong candidate in Shadwell’s impressive Sept. 19 Yarmouth debut winner Jamaheery (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). In the G3 Godolphin Lifetime Care Oh So Sharp S., another notable in the royal blue is Final Song (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who has enjoyed a break since finishing third in the six-furlong G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. July 12. She needs to prove she stays seven furlongs as well as her dam Rahiyah (Rahy) did when running second to Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley) in the 2006 G2 Rockfel S. here.

Opposing Final Song are Yvonne Jacques’s Stylistique (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who was also second in the latest renewal of the Rockfel over course and distance Sept. 27, Khalid Abdullah’s impressive Aug. 1 Goodwood maiden winner Vividly (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) and another Jessie Harrington representative in the Valeria Messalina (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}). The latter, who sports Anthony Rogers’s Skitter Scatter silks, was only a narrow winner of a seven-furlong Naas maiden on her sole start Sept. 18 but with her stable showing such strength in depth in this particular department she commands respect.    “Valeria Messalina was very good the first day,” Harrington said. “It’s a big step up in class for her, but there were no seven-furlong fillies’ races for her at home, so we decided we’d travel her across the water.”

The G2 Godolphin Stud & Stable Staff Awards Challenge S. sees Paul Jacobs’s evergreen Limato (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) bid for a third renewal getting weight from the G1 Lockinge S. winner Mustashry (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}) and G2 City of York S. scorer Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). As usual, ground conditions will dictate Limato’s participation. “The fact is this is his last opportunity for the year. There is no other seven-furlong race and we’ve missed the last three because of the ground, but now we’re going to give it a go as long as they don’t get too much more rain,” Jacobs explained. “I’d have thought if it remains no worse than good-to-soft we’ll take our chance. If it gets softer than that, we would have to rethink. Since he ran at Goodwood at the end of August, we’ve missed the Hungerford, then the Park and the Foret.”

The fixture closes with the G3 Darley Pride S. in which Sheikha Al Jalila Racing’s Fanny Logan (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) is on a four-timer with Frankie sporting the vintage Sheikh Mohammed colours which marked so many of his formative days as a rider.

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