By Tom Frary
John and Thady Gosden had an unsually quiet season with their 2-year-olds until Isa Salman and Abdulla Al Khalifa's Commissioning (GB) (Kingman {GB}) came along and blew the scene apart in the G2 Rockfel S. a fortnight ago. Friday's G1 bet365 Fillies' Mile also on Newmarket's Rowley Mile appears hers for the taking on Friday if she can reproduce that kind of performance in such a competitive edition of that prize.
Like her, Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's TDN Rising Star Bright Diamond (Ire) (El Kabeir) debuted in style on the July Course here and after winning by nine lengths Aug. 6. lost nothing in defeat when third from a compromising position in the seven-furlong G3 Prestige S. at Goodwood three weeks later. “She didn't get the run of the race at Goodwood as we were a bit slowly away, the first two were always the first two and we were the only horse to make ground up on them,” trainer Karl Burke said. “I think if she'd jumped better she'd have probably beaten them.”
The Megsons' rags-to-riches sensation Polly Pott (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) adds a twist to this tale, having provided a grand finale to the career of Harry Dunlop in Doncaster's G2 May Hill S. Sept. 8. Is this a step too far for the 21,000gns Book 2 bargain or is there a tear-provoking moment in store to follow Alpinista's triumph on Sunday? At the other end of the spectrum, Ballydoyle's Library (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is of course impossible to ignore despite her underwhelming second in Leopardstown's Listed Ingabelle S. Sept. 10, with the step up to a mile sure to suit and any amount of improvement to come.
Lose Yourself In The Oh So Sharp
In the seven-furlong G3 Godolphin Lifetime Care Oh So Sharp S., there is a fascinating clash of the unbeaten Tom Clover-trained Newbury conditions scorer Crystallium (GB) (Expert Eye {GB})–only 22,000gns at the Book 2 Sale–and the Rockfel third Rage Of Bamby (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), with several budding stars such as the Sept. 24 Curragh maiden winner Small Oasis (GB) (Sioux Nation) from the Michael Grassick stable and the Ralph Beckett-trained July Course winner Lose Yourself (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). “We think she could be special, but the ground would be a big worry,” Grassick admitted on Thursday. “She's a far better filly with a bit of juice in the ground, so hopefully the ground doesn't get too quick for her.” Beckett's strike-rate on the Rowley Mile in the autumn is formidable and his juveniles seem especially tuned in this season, while there is also Roisin Henry's impressive Doncaster novice winner Midnight Mile (Ire) (No Nay Never), of whom Richard Fahey said, “We've been minding her as she's a filly for the future, but she's been working well.”
Crowned Prince?
Newmarket also stages the G3 Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis S. over five furlongs, where Middleham Park's impressive Listed Harry Rosebery S. winner Prince Of Pillo (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}) could become that breakthrough good horse that trainer Keith Dalgleish seems destined for. The G2 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Challenge S. sees Cheveley Park Stud's brilliant if unpredictable Sacred (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) look to inch William Haggas towards the trainers' championship. Her emphatic display in Newbury's Listed Dubai Duty Free Cup over this seven-furlong trip Sept. 16 was the Sacred we know best. “If she runs a big race then we might be tempted to travel to the Breeders' Cup, but she'll tell us I suppose,” the Stud's managing director Chris Richardson said. “We appreciate Keeneland can have soft ground at that time of year and it's not like it would have been had the Breeders' Cup been at Santa Anita, for example, but we'll keep the window of opportunity open for now anyway.”
There is also the 10-furlong G3 Newmarket Pony Academy Pride S., where Shadwell's improving Listed John Musker Fillies' S. winner Shaara (GB) (Shamardal) is the exciting one.
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