My Ophelia

Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica) and Precise (Starspangledbanner), both Group 1-winning juveniles trained by Aidan O'Brien, headline 53 entries for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom on Friday, June 5. Unbeaten in three starts as a two-year-old, Diamond Necklace was last seen winning the Prix Marcel Boussac at ParisLongchamp, while Precise rattled off four straight victories as a two-year-old after being beaten on her debut at Fairyhouse, culminating with back-to-back Group 1 wins in the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Fillies' Mile. In total, O'Brien has entered 15 fillies in his quest...

Group winner More Thunder will train toward a start in the G1 Lockinge Stakes in May, according to trainer William Haggas. A winner of the G2 Hungerford Stakes, the son of Night Of Thunder ended his four-year-old season with a solid fourth-place finish in the G1 Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs on Arc Day. The one-mile Lockinge at Newbury takes place on May 16. Haggas said, "I'm very disappointed in the lack of opportunities over seven furlongs for a horse like him and in fact there is nothing,...

Now that the obvious TDN Rising Stars, Presented by Hagyard have been dealt with, it is time to turn to the "darker" ones among last year's crop. Not that there is such thing as a truly dark horse anymore thanks to detailed data and the vastly greater scope of media coverage of the better maidens and novices. We're not there yet, for some reason, but there will be a time when we will know almost instantly whether we've seen a genuine good horse or not through meaningful stride and time...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features a seven-figure yearling from Tattersalls Book 1. 2.34 Newbury, Novice, 2yo, f, 8fT ALPINARA (GB) (Frankel {GB}) makes her eagerly-anticipated debut for Amo Racing and Sir Mark Prescott, having cost the operation 2.5million gns at last year's Tattersalls October Book 1. True goldmine material, the full-sister...