Jessica Harrington hopes to keep it in the family when her top filly Discoveries lines up for Friday’s Royal Ascot highlight.
Four years after Alpha Centauri routed a Coronation Stakes field by six lengths in track record time, her full sister Discoveries takes a shot at the same Group 1 prize.
Not only that but it is only two years since their half-sister Alpine Star also won the Coronation.
It’s not unusual for siblings to match each other’s abilities. Urban Sea threw two superstars in Galileo and Sea The Stars. But by any measure the accomplishment of the broodmare Alpha Lui in producing a top-flight trio like this is impressive.
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Discoveries landed a Group 1 in last year’s Moyglare, trumping her relatives by scoring at the top level as a two year old.
She failed to fire in last month’s 1,000 Guineas however behind Cachet and is one of a number of fillies trying to reverse that Newmarket form.
They include Aidan O’Brien’s Tenebrism while Henry De Bromhead takes aim at a top-level flat prize with the outsider Honey Girl.
Cachet will try to become the 13th filly since the war to win both the Guineas and the Coronation but has to reverse her own subsequent defeat herself to Mangoustine in the ‘”Pouliches”.
The unknown factor is Inspiral whose juvenile exploits still leave her officially top-rated on a mark of 115.
She has proved very slow to come to hand this season and it remains to be seen if the Gosden star has trained on.
Trends followers will be encouraged by the biennial coincidence involved with Discoveries although she’s not the only one with some serendipity on her side.
Andrew Balding won last year’s Coronation with Alcohol Free who’d previously disappointed when only fifth to Mother Earth in the Guineas.
Her stable companion Sandrine comes here on the back of the same placing at Newmarket where she appeared to be running on encouragingly well for a filly speedy enough to win last season’s Albany.
Friday’s other Group 1 prize is the Commonwealth Cup where a trio of Irish hopes take their chance in the 20-runner field.
Michael O’Callaghan’s sprinter Twilight Jet was impressive on his Lacken Stakes reappearance and is sure to be prominent in a race that sees Perfect Power return to sprinting after defeat in the 2,000 Guineas.
There could be some value in Ger Lyons’s Sacred Bridge who won at Cork last time after previously finishing two lengths off no less than Homeless Songs in a Guineas trial over seven.
Fast ground will be ideal for a filly whose previous cross-channel raid in the Cheveley Park ended in failure last season although she was probably over the top by then.
Friday’s Albany renewal includes the unbeaten Ballydoyle filly Meditate who landed a Group 3 at Naas on her second start.
Brave Anna in 2016 has been Aidan O’Brien’s sole winner of this race to date but the sole Irish runner has a leading chance here.
She’s Hot has much less obvious claims considering she was beaten on her only run to date at Kempton in March.
However, she is still given a shot at this by the Cole team and her stable companion Royal Scotsman ran a fine race in Tuesday’s Coventry.
Friday evening’s action in Ireland includes the Listed Martin Molony Stakes in Limerick where Twinkle — a full sister to the ill-fated Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck — could put it up to the likely favourite Raise You now she encounters a mile and a half for the first time.
