Frankel

Shapoor Mistry's Thundering On (Frankel) has been rated 124 by Timeform for her G1 Betfred Oaks victory on Friday. The rating is on par with 2004 Oaks heroine Ouija Board (Cape Cross), with only Enable (Nathaniel) and Sariska (Pivotal)--both rated 125--rated higher this century. Timeform's Rory King, said, "We're in a high-class era of middle-distance horses in Europe, and Thundering On has put herself on the fringes of the top echelon of them with her really impressive success in the Betfred Oaks. "It's possible to pick holes in the form,...

5.30 Leopardstown, Mdn, 2yo, f, 7f 20yT Coolmore and Flaxman Stables' newcomer IBELIEVEICANFLY (Frankel {GB}) is out of G2 Prix Corrida second That Which Is Not (Elusive Quality) and thus kin to the ill-fated G1 Irish Derby and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup placegetter Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}) and the dual Group 3-placed Yosemite Valley (GB) (Shamardal). Rivals of the Ryan Moore selection include connections' Aidan O'Brien stablemate Alpha (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who is out of four-time Group 1 heroine Alpha Centauri (Mastercraftsman).

With just six horses in training in Europe, Shapoor Mistry operates on a scale that is dwarfed by the powerhouse operations - but it has proved no barrier to success for the Indian native who, off the back of a dream fortnight stacked full of important winners, could enjoy his greatest success yet when homebred Thundering On (Frankel) lines up in the Betfred Oaks.  Bloodstock agent Anthony Stroud has played a massive role in Mistry's excellent run of form. Recent juvenile winners Havana Lightning and Shimmering Sun, along with Group...

3.18 Nottingham, Mdn, 2yo, f, 5f 8yT SENORITA BONITA (IRE) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) topped the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale at 900,000gns and debuts for Victorious Forever and Simon and Ed Crisford in the maiden won in the last three years by Zelaina, Leovanni and Beautiful Diamond. Jaber Abdullah's Queen Of Christmas (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) also makes her debut, with the Karl Burke-trained €305,000 Arqana Deauville October purchase a half-sister to the Listed-winning dam of last year's Prix du Moulin de Longchamp hero Sahlan (Wootton Bassett).   5.40 Curragh, Mdn, 2yo,...

1.12 Navan, Mdn, 2yo, 5f 180yT TANTARDINI (No Nay Never) makes his racecourse bow in the maiden won 12 months ago by stablemate Gstaad and is Wayne Lordan's pick of the Ballydoyle duo. The fourth foal out of the Sun Chariot, Falmouth and Prix Rothschild winner Roly Poly (War Front) and grandson of the four-times Group 1-winning  Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Misty For Me (Galileo) from the family of U S Navy Flag is joined by Sergei Diaghilev (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), a full-brother to the triple Group-placed Endorsement.  ...

Juddmonte's Item has been rated 117p by Timeform for his York heroics. The son of Frankel won the G2 Dante Stakes earlier this week. He is rated one pound below G1 Betfred Derby rival and G3 Chester Vase hero Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel). Below the top two are Listed Lingfield Derby Trial Stakes one-two Maltese Cross (Sea The Stars) and Bay Of Brilliance (New Bay). Timeform's senior analyst Rory King said, "Item's success in the Dante means he'll head to the Derby, trailing only Benvenuto Cellini in the ratings, with the...

5.15 York, Novice, 3yo/up, 7f 192yT PORTCULLIS (GB) (Frankel {GB}) earned TDN Rising Star status in Newmarket's Wood Ditton last month and goes steady for now with Royal Ascot looming. John and Thady Gosden have opted to send The King and The Queen's homebred son of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Castle Lady (Shamardal) to the race they used for their eventual Lockinge hero Lead Artist and have won on the last three occasions, including with two colts they subsequently pitched into Group 1 company.   1.22 Newmarket, Novice,...

Bow Echo has been given a rating of 131 for his brilliant performance in the G1 Betfred 2000 Guineas by Timeform. The son of Night Of Thunder won by 2 3/4 lengths over Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) (123). Only five horses have earned a higher rating in winning the 2000 Guineas since 1970. Ranked by rating, they are Brigadier Gerard 141 (1971), El Gran Senor 136 (1984), Nijinsky II 135 (1970), Frankel 135 (2011) and Dancing Brave 134 (1986). Bow Echo is not entered in the G1 Betfred Derby for George Boughey,...

Whether the Classic picture is any clearer this week than last is debatable but what the last seven days have brought us is some truly impressive performances to savour. And it is hard to pick just one, though it has to be said that Portcullis's Wood Ditton run was visually the most spectacular for all that you could see the colt learning with every stride he took, from being left at the start, to bounding through then clear of his rivals.  His maiden success for the King and Queen played...

3.42 Newbury, Novice, 3yo, 10fT SHABAB AL AHLI (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is front and centre in Charlie Appleby's Derby plans at present, having won by 8 1/2 lengths on debut at Southwell in December and he has the chance to enhance his reputation in this important staging post used in the past by the Classic winners Hurricane Lane, Enable, Star Of Seville and Light Shift. Out of the Group 3 winner Koora (Pivotal), who has already produced two winners at that level in Klondike (Galileo) and Kemari (Dubawi), he encounters...

John Warren was doing his level best to suppress his excitement, but even a longstanding racing manager who has been privy to the highs and the lows of the sport has to crack after witnessing a performance like that of Portcullis in the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes at Newmarket. The colt's breeder King Charles III was not present at the Rowley Mile but it's a safe bet that he and Queen Camilla will receive the most glowing post-race report from Warren and Portcullis's trainers John and Thady Gosden. "If I'm...

2.30 ParisLongchamp, Cond, 3yo, f, 8fT THE LAST DANCE (FR) (Iffraaj {GB}) puts her Classic credentials on the line in this increasingly important Prix du Louvre conditions event which has hosted the 2021 and 2024 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroines Coeursamba and Rouhiya. Both were beaten in this course-and-distance contest, so Sheikh Omar Esmil Ghrghar, Carlos and Yann Lerner and Antoine Gilibert's impressive Chantilly winner who earned a TDN Rising Star tag remains of interest for next month's Classic as long as she shows up well. Another unexposed Pouliches entry...