CORONATION STAKES  [GROUP ONE] ONE MILE.

FINSCEAL BEO
3yo chestnut filly; Mr Greeley – Musical Treat
Trained by Jim Bolger
Form: 11-121
“This spring Finsceal Beo has proved to be an outstandingly tough and talented filly, winning the English and Irish 1000 Guineas and denied on the line by Darjina in the French version – where the going was thought to be a bit on the slow for Finsceal Beo. Three hard races in as many weeks may leave their mark on a horse with less fortitude but Finsceal Beo appears to thrive on hard work. She has carried on in 2007 where she left off last season when winning the Rockfel at Newmarket and prior to that producing an outstanding effort to win the Group One Marcel Boussac by five lengths. Darjina will prove a mighty opponent to Finsceal Beo here and there seems likely to be a mere whisker between them –  faster ground may swing it Finsceal Beo’s way.

DARJINA
3yo bay filly; Zamindar – Darinska
Trained by Alan de Royer-Dupre
Form: 1-11
“Darjina is improving in leaps and bounds and having only her third race in the French 1000 Guineas nailed Finsceal Beo , the English Guineas heroine, on the line by a head to keep her unbeaten record intact. She had previously had to work hard to beat Missvinski in a Group 3 Guineas warm-up at Longchamp and a short-neck looks as close as Missvinski will ever get to Darjina. Finsceal Beo on the other hand will be all out for revenge on better ground which is distinctly possible on the fast-draining Ascot track. She made plenty of ground up in the home straight at Longchamp and was ridden to perfection by Christophe Soumillon. Stand by for another late lunge!”

MI EMMA
3yo bay filly; Silvano –Mi Anna
Trained by Andreas Wohler
Form: 111
“Mi Emma is rated as ‘one of the best fillies I have trained’ by Andreas Wohler. She hasn’t blotted her copy book yet. She won the German 1000 Guineas by 9 lengths from Mystic Lips (subsequent 5 length winner of German Oaks) having previously won her trial by another yawning wide margin. It is usually folly to attempt to compare the German form book with races in England, Ireland and France, however on the bare evidence Mi Emma is a worthy challenger but will have to be extra smart to cope with either Finsceal Beo or Darjina.”

ARCH SWING
3yo bay filly; Arch – Gold Pattern
Trained by John Oxx
Form: 11-120
“On the evidence of her excellent second behind Finsceal Beo in the English 1000 Guineas, Arch Swing appeared to have fair prospects of finishing closer to her conqueror in the Irish equivalent at the Curragh however she ran the first poor race of her career, finishing almost tailed off. There were excuses as she was found to have pulled muscles in her hind-quarters. She has worked well since this setback and deserves to have another crack at Finsceal Beo.- she was certainly on an upward improvement curve before the Curragh. If she lines up here, rest assured John Oxx will have Arch Swing in prime nick – if so, she should run very well.”

RAHIYAH
3yo chestnut filly; Rahy – Meiosis
Trained by Jeremy Noseda
Form: 212-3
“Rahiyah has twice finished behind Finsceal Beo and thoughts of making it third time lucky must be considered unlikely, but by no means impossible. Their first encounter was in the Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket last autumn when Rahiyah was thrown to the lions having previously won in maiden company. She ran a cracker, finishing an excellent 3 length second to the already battle-hardened Finsceal Beo. More recently Rahiyah ran another sound race finishing hot on the heels of Darjina and Finsceal Beo in the French 1000 Guineas. It was her first run of 2007, so granted expected improvement she cannot be discounted here.”

YAQEEN
3yo bay filly; Green Desert – Lady Elgar
Trained by Michael Jarvis
Form: 3-16
“To date Yaqeen has only run at Newmarket – most recently when far from disgraced in the 1000 Guineas (6½ lengths 6th to Finsceal Beo). This was a dramatic step up in class following victory in a maiden fillies race at the Craven meeting in April. Yaqueen ran really well in the Guineas despite suffering interference 2 furlongs from home. Further improvement can be confidently expected and Yaqeen has live frame prospects.”

MISSVINSKI
3yo bay filly; Stravinsky – Miss U Fran
Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget
Form: 131-12
“Missvinski’s two year-old was a mixed bag – well beaten on her only attempt in Group company (G3 only), she won three races against lesser opposition. Her one piece of outstanding form was when beaten only a short-neck to the subsequent French Guineas winner Darjina in a Group 3 race at Longchamp in Paril. Darjina was far from fully wound up on that occasion, so let’s not get too carried away.”

COSTUME
3yo bay filly; Danehill – Dance Dress
Trained by John Gosden
Form: 3-341
“Costume has run well in all of her three races this season although losing her maiden tag at odds of 1-16 at Ripon hardly required much effort. Prior to her Ripon saunter Costume had excelled herself in the French 1000 Guineas finishing fourth to Darjina, Finsceal Beo and Rahiyah – prior to that she finished third to her Coronation Stakes rival Yaqeen in a Newmarket maiden. Both fillies have a similar profile and it’s hard to choose between them. The form suggests that possibly Yaqeen would be the choice in a match bet – but only just.”