Observations: May 18, 2018

[Wandering Eyes]

1.30 Newbury, Mdn, £10,000, 2yo, 6fT
BURJ (GB) (Dansili {GB}) is a half-brother to the recent G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Soliloquy (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who starts for the same Saeed bin Suroor yard. He meets 10 rivals in a maiden that has thrown up subsequent group winners of late.

2.0 Newbury, Mdn, £10,000, 2yo, 6fT
HAPPY POWER (IRE) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is a notable in division two, being a 625,000gns TATOCT graduate who races in the colours of “King Power”, Leicester City Football Club’s chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Andrew Balding has charge of the relative of the GSW juvenile Cairns (UAE) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB})

3.05 Chantilly, Cond, €35,000, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT
ZARKAMIYA (FR) (Frankel {GB}) heads over the G1 Prix de Diane course and distance as she bids to justify ‘TDN Rising Star’ status following her successful career opener at ParisLongchamp last month. Racing under a subsequent penalty but only giving weight to one rival, His Highness The Aga Khan’s daughter of his brilliant Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar)–who captured that Classic herself–has been found an ideal opportunity to gain further racing experience by Alain de Royer-Dupre ahead of next month’s feature. Interestingly, this was never considered a favourite track of her half-brother Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) despite the fact that he was runner-up in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, so it will be telling how she copes.

4.25 Newmarket, Cond, £6,000, 3yo, 8fT
HERCULEAN (GB) (Frankel {GB}) returns for a rematch with Wadilsafa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), having filled the first two places in a seven-furlong Ascot maiden, in September on their sole starts. The former is Juddmonte’s son of their G1 Haydock Sprint Cup heroine African Rose (GB) (Observatory) and therefore a full-brother to the G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Fair Eva (GB) who was kept back from Classic action by a typically patient Roger Charlton. Shadwell’s Wadilsafa, an Owen Burrows-trained homebred half-brother to the G3 City of York S. scorer Talaayeb (GB) (Dansili {GB}) out of the G1 Epsom Oaks third Rumoush (Rahy), gets seven pounds from his old rival here.

4.50 Cork, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, 6f 60yT
ISLE OF INNISFREE (Scat Daddy) is one of three Ballydoyle colts who were scratched at The Curragh last week when the weather turned and they are all in attendance here, and he is full-brother to last year’s G1 Phoenix S. and G2 Norfolk S. hero and fellow Aidan O’Brien trainee Sioux Nation. He will have to be smart to deal with the Dundalk maiden second and third Invasion Day (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) and Empire State (Scat Daddy), with the latter one of the re-routed Rosegreen trio.

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