The £163,500 Group One Shadwell Fillies' Mile (3pm) is the highlight of day two of Newmarket's Cambridgeshire Meeting, Shadwell Day, on Friday, September 23.
The mile contest, transferred to Newmarket from Ascot, boasts an illustrious role of honour that includes future Classic winners such as Oh So Sharp, Diminuendo, Bosra Sham and Reams Of Verse. This year's race looks set to be another hugely informative pointer for next season's premier races.
Maybe currently heads the ante-post market for next year's QIPCO 1000 Guineas and Investec Oaks following a faultless juvenile campaign of five wins from as many starts, including a comfortable victory on her latest appearance in the Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on August 28.
Her trainer Aidan O'Brien has sent out Sunspangled (1998) and Listen (2007) to victory in the Shadwell Fillies' Mile, and has also been represented in the race by subsequent Oaks winners Imagine, who was fourth in 2000, and the 2005 runner-up Alexandrova.
Mahmood Al Zarooni has already plundered two of Newmarket's top contests for juvenile fillies this season courtesy of Group Two Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cherry Hinton Stakes heroine Gamilati and Discourse, who stormed to an impressive victory in the Group Three german-thoroughbred.com Sweet Solera Stakes.
The Godolphin handler is set have his first runner in the Shadwell Fillies' Mile with Lyric Of Light, who was supplemented at a cost of £15,000 following a neck success over Fallen For You in the Group Two May Hill Stakes over the same distance at Doncaster on September 9. The Street Cry filly had previously made a winning debut on Newmarket's July Course when scoring in a seven-furlong maiden on August 26.
Al Zarooni may also be represented by Kunooz, who also made a winning debut over seven furlongs on the July Course on July 15 and was runner-up to stable companion Falls Of Lora in an Ascot conditions race on September 3.
He commented today: “Lyric Of Light is in good form. She came on a lot for her first start at Newmarket and I hope that she has learned a lot from the May Hill Stakes, because she was still very green.
“She has improved with every start this season, so I am hopeful that she can continue her upward curve.
“We have entered Kunooz in several races including the Shadwell Fillies' Mile and the Sakhee Oh So Sharp Stakes, while she could also head to Italy for a race out there. She is a nice filly but she needs juice in the ground and the further, the better, for her.”
John Gosden may bid for a fifth victory in the Shadwell Fillies' Mile with Doncaster second Fallen For You, another filly to have won on her debut on the July Course, while Maybe's trainer Aidan O'Brien has also kept in Devotion and Wading.
Listed winner Kinetica and emphatic Epsom scorer Albamara could represent the owner-trainer combination of Kirsten Rausing and Sir Mark Prescott. Albamara is out of a full-sister to Alborada, who twice won the Group One Champion Stakes at Newmarket for the same owner and trainer.
Other notable contenders include the Mick Channon-trained Samitar, who triumphed in the Group Three Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, Salisbury maiden winner Firdaws, from the stable of Roger Varian, and the William Muir-trained Villeneuve, who took a Wolverhampton maiden by six lengths on her latest start.
Shadwell Day also features the penultimate mile contest in the QIPCO British Champions Series, the £100,000 Group Two Nayef Joel Stakes (2.25pm).
The £100,000 contest has attracted seven confirmations. Godolphin's Saeed bin Suroor has two possible starters, the 2010 Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes victor Poet's Voice and Emerald Commander. Recent Group Two Park Stakes victor Premio Loco could represent Newmarket handler Chris Wall, while Richard Hannon has left in the consistent Libranno, a dual Group Two winner in 2010 and twice successful in Group Three company this season.
Shadwell Day begins at 1.15pm with the seven-furlong £34,000 Group Three Sakhee Oh Sharp Stakes for juvenile fillies (23 entries) and also features the £30,000 Listed Aqlaam Godolphin Stakes (4.10pm, 10 entries) over a mile and a half for three-year-olds and upwards.
The three-day Cambridgeshire Meeting begins on Thursday, September 22 and concludes on Saturday, September 24, Betfred Cambridgeshire Day.
