TUESDAY, 28 MAY 2019 Fillies' showdown at Ascot... THE WEEKLY WRAP: A There have been plenty of tantalising hints towards the juvenile contests for Royal Ascot over the past few weeks but PIVOTAL MOMENT the race that is gearing up to be the thriller of the royal meeting is the Prince of Wales's S. We've all been looking farther down the line at the Arc as the race of the season, and it usually is, especially in terms of its international pull, but a tantalising prequel could well take place at Ascot in three weeks' time. Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) won't make Friday's Investec Coronation Cup and she currently shares top billing for her Ascot target with last year's Arc runner-up, Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). While Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has sailed through her three races so far this season and is set for a summer break before Irish Champions Weekend and the Arc, her trainer Aidan O'Brien did not rule out a possible Royal Ascot run after her seven-length triumph in Sunday's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. Other No looking back for Siyarafina after her Group 1 triumph | Scoop Dyga 4-year-old fillies in the mix are Veracious (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for the in-form Sir Michael Stoute stable and recent G2 Middleton S. winner Lah Ti Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Cont. p2 By Emma Berry Another Guineas double was delivered for Aidan O'Brien by the filly who truly lives up to her name. In the paddock before the Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas, Hermosa (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) looked to have thrived since her first Classic win at Newmarket and gave her followers little room for doubt with a dominant performance at the Curragh. Nothing came from off the pace in the race, and it was the fillies who challenged her gamely from the off, Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Foxtrot Liv (GB) (Foxwedge {Aus}), who claimed the places while doing their level best to peg her back, but Hermosa was imperious in victory and will be a delight to watch as she steps up in trip. In Ireland on Sunday, daughters of Pivotal (GB) shone as matrons in both Group 1 races, helped in no small part by that heady blend with Galileo blood. But while His Highness the Aga Khan was in Ireland to assist Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to open the Enable is gearing up for a Royal Ascot Return | Emma Berry stand named in honour of his contribution to the redevelopment of the Curragh, over in Paris, his homebred daughter of Pivotal, Siyarifina (Fr), continued her unbeaten progress through the ranks to the top level in just three short IN TDN AMERICA TODAY leaps with victory in the G1 Saxon Warrior Coolmore Prix VINO ROSSO POSTS POIGNANT SCORE AT SANTA ANITA Saint-Alary. A tussle with Hermosa in the Prix de Diane beckons. Vino Rosso (Curlin), a horse selected by the late Jimmy Crupi, won the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN America. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 8 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 28 MAY 2019 Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) completed a memorable day for Charlie Hills with his victory in the G2 Temple S. less than half Some international flavour will be provided an hour after Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) landed by trainer Mitsuru Hashida's globetrotting the Irish 2000 Guineas on his seasonal debut. But Battaash also Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), who is ensured that his breeders Paul and Marie McCartan ended the currently looking the picture of contentment week on a high after another of their Ballyphilip Stud graduates, on her solo morning strolls around Pierre Lapin (Ire) (Cappella Sansevero {GB}), also struck at Newmarket. Haydock in a novice race 24 hours earlier. His three-and-a-half Of course, it won't be all about the girls: length debut victory earned him not just >TDN Rising Star> status Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Old but also a little slice of history as the first winner for his Persian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Ghaiyyath (GB) freshman sire, who stands at Bridge House Stud in Ireland. (Dubawi {Ire}), Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and Sunday's Prix The well-named Pierre Lapin is out of the Cadeaux Genereux d'Ispahan winner Zabeel Prince (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) are (GB) mare Beatrix Potter (Ire), making him a half-brother to among those set to offer a robust male challenge. And with the another famous Dark Angel sprinter to have emerged from the return of last year's Derby hero Masar (GB) (New Approach Ballyphilip paddocks, Harry Angel (Ire). Beatrix Potter is herself a {Ire}) providing another potential layer of intrigue, Wednesday's half-sister to the dual Group 1-winning Hong Kong miler feature at Royal Ascot must not be missed. Xtension (Ire) (Xaar {GB}). Pierre Lapin, trained by Roger Varian, sparked a juvenile double at the meeting for owner Sheikh More McCartan magic... Mohammed Obaid, who was represented later on the card by another first-time-out winner, Rhea (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), from the Kevin Ryan stable. While Varian has trained for the sheikh for a number of years, Ryan was the recipient of yearlings for the owner for the first time last year and appears to have a decent bunch of 2-year-olds to campaign for him this season, including impressive York maiden winner Repartee (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). Princely rewards for Roundhill... Just 20 minutes from the McCartans' Ballyphilip Stud in Co. Limerick is Roundhill Stud, home to the successful breeding operation of Bobby Donworth and Honora Corridan. Plenty of group-winning graduates have emanated from their paddocks over the years and one family-that of Princess Serena-has served them particularly well. Battaash | Racing Post Cont. p3 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 8 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 28 MAY 2019 The Weekly Wrap cont. An outlay of $150,000 back in 2003 for the 4-year-old daughter of Unbridled's Song out of a sister to the champion filly Serena's Song (Rahy) has been handsomely rewarded in the intervening years. Though she lost the Thunder Gulch foal she was carrying at the time of her purchase, her next foal was Serena's Storm (Ire) (Statue Of Libery), who would go on to Vice President, International Operations Gary King produce the dual Group 1 winner Rizeena (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), and Twitter: @garykingTDN Group 2 winner Puissance De Lune (Ire) (Shamardal), now a [email protected] stallion at Swettenham Stud in Australia, was to follow. + 1.732.320.0975 It is the cross with Shamardal and his son Lope De Vega (Ire) which has proved particularly successful for the mare, International Editor highlighted by the victory on Sunday of Princess Serena's Kelsey Riley 6-year-old son by the latter, Zabeel Prince (Ire), in the G1 Prix Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN d'Ispahan, bringing up a Group 1 double for Lope De Vega at the [email protected] weekend after Phoenix Of Spain's Classic win on Saturday. This European Editor also continued a purple patch for Princess Serena's family after Emma Berry her 3-year-old daughter Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal) won the Twitter: @collingsberry listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies' Trial for Sir Michael Stoute and [email protected] King Power Racing the previous weekend. She holds Royal Ascot entries for the Ribblesdale S. and Coronation S., while Zabeel Associate International Editor Prince could go for either the Queen Anne S. or the Prince of Heather Anderson Wales's S. Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen Twitter: @AlaynaCullen [email protected] Contributing Editor Alan Carasso Twitter: @EquinealTDN Cafe Racing Sean Cronin Tom Frary [email protected] Irish Correspondent Daithi Harvey Regular Columnists Tim Donworth collects Zabeel Prince=s breeder=s trophy for his parents Chris McGrath | Andrew Caulfield Scoop Dyga John Berry | Kevin Blake AI've always said that the strength of Princess Serena is Unbridled's Song, and you hit that with Storm Cat and you're away,@ said Honora Corridan. "She has given us so much." IN TDN AUS/NZ TODAY She added, "We've used Lope De Vega from i15,000 all the way up and I really believe that he's an elite stallion. The mare STRONG CATALOGUE TO KICK OFF MM BROODMARES produced a very good full-brother to Zabeel Prince this year. We Paul Vettise takes a look at some of the horses on offer. Click also have a yearling filly by Gleneagles from her." Cont. p4 or tap here to go straight to TDN Aus/NZ. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 4 OF 8 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 28 MAY 2019 Meanwhile Serena's Storm, now 14 and one of three A tip of the cap should also go to Michael Bell, who pulled off a daughters and three grand-daughters of Princess Serena at the remarkable five-timer the Monday before last, with his sixth farm, has a yearling full-sister to Rizeena with a Dark Angel (Ire) runner of the day being beaten only a short-head for second. filly at foot and has been scanned in foal to Dubawi (Ire). Her The trainer also went close to emulating Hills's feat of winning a 2-year-old daughter by Kingman (GB) was recently one of the Classic with a horse making a seasonal debut when last season's stars of the show at the Arqana Breeze-up Sale when sold for champion 2-year-old filly Pretty Pollyanna returned in fine style i800,000 to Godolphin, having been sold as a yearling by her to finish second to Hermosa in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.