Tajlina (GB)

Friday, Saint-Cloud, France, post time: 15:10, AUGUSTE RODIN COOLMORE PRIX CLEOPATRE-G3, €80,000, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT Field: Benamira (GB) (Waldgeist {GB}), Tajlina (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Danara (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Indalimos (Fr) (Cloth Of Stars {Ire}), Marinaleda (Fr) (Recoletos {Fr}), Zia Agnese (Fr) (Romanised {Ire}). TDN Verdict: Further G1 Prix de Diane clues are available here, with little known about four of the protagonists but probably much expected from connections. Tajlina has vital course-and-distance form, having won the G3 Prix Penelope last month, so it is interesting that Francis-Henri Graffard...

The entries for the Betfred Oaks were released on Tuesday, with 47 fillies in contention for the Classic which is due to take place at Epsom on Friday, June 6. Aidan O'Brien is responsible for no fewer than 16 contenders as he bids for an 11th Oaks success, having won the race seven times since 2012 alone. His formidable squad is headed by the unbeaten Lake Victoria (Ire), who completed a hat-trick of top-level victories as a two-year-old when winning the Moyglare Stud Stakes, Cheveley Park Stakes and Breeders' Cup...

Francis-Henri Graffard can do no wrong at present and his irresistible run continued into the early Classic trials as Tajlina (GB) (Kingman {GB}) struck in Saturday's G3 Prix Penelope. A seven-length winner at Chantilly in mid-October before flopping in the Listed Prix Isonomy later that month, the Al Asayl homebred was slowly away for Mickael Barzalona after rearing in the stalls ahead of the 10 1/2-furlong Saint-Cloud prep. Staying on strongly in the style of her high-class dam Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the 9-5 favourite asserted inside the final furlong...