By Tom Frary
Impressive on debut in a seven-furlong novice contest at Newmarket Aug. 23, Dr Ali Ridha's Powerful Breeze (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) belied inexperience to upstage some stouter fillies in Thursday's G2 May Hill S. at Doncaster. Anchored with two behind early by James Doyle as the pace proved moderate in the gusts that had blighted Town Moor all afternoon, the 6-1 second favourite showed the sharpest turn of foot to gain the lead passing the two-furlong pole before asserting for a length verdict over Boomer (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Godolphin's Alpen Rose (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), one of the more obvious Oaks types on pedigree, showed distinct promise to be a neck away in third, while the 6-4 favourite Cloak of Spirits (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was only sixth after enjoying a prominent position throughout.
“Early on, I thought I'd get her back out of the wind and get her to relax and she was quite green,” James Doyle commented. “When the pace would lift, I had to ask her to sit a touch closer and then when it steadied she would run a bit keen, so it wasn't that smooth. I couldn't believe how steady they were going even to the three pole and she quickened up and was in front after 10 strides. At the end she was very game and very professional.” Doyle sees a future for Powerful Breeze, adding, “On debut, she did nothing but please us and David Egan rode her and said the further she goes the better she'll be. She was taking everything in going down to the start and was slightly on her toes and it was just in the early part of the race that I had to teach her a bit. She's one to look forward to and there are nice targets for her. She's not a small horse, she has plenty of scope and will strengthen out. We live the dream of the Guineas and races like that.”
Hugo Palmer was putting a generally low-key 2019 campaign behind him and said, “Everything worked really nicely and James gave her a peach of a ride. There is a really strong headwind and he covered her up beautifully. What she lacks in experience, she makes up for in heart–I thought maybe she'd got there a bit soon as it's only her second start with the step up in trip and everything, but she's really exciting. We haven't had the easiest of seasons. The three-year-olds haven't turned out to be what we thought they were going to be. To get a group two on the board with one of the two-year-olds is thoroughly exciting. I think she'll go on most ground apart from really soft.”
“We'll see how she is and think about supplementing for the [Oct. 11 G1] Fillies' Mile [at Newmarket],” Palmer added. “She will grow and develop and fillies can go off, so we don't have to make a decision on that yet.” Tom Dascombe said of Boomer, “She's run a great race, I'm thrilled with her. Obviously the winner is very good. We're a very good filly as well, but today we got beat. Let's hope we can go on and do something else with her in the future.”
Powerful Breeze, who was the third cheapest filly in this line-up and a relative bargain, is out of Godolphin's Power of Light (Ire) (Echo of Light {GB}) who managed a third placing in the Listed Montrose Fillies' S. as a juvenile. Her listed-placed third dam Garmoucheh (Silver Hawk) is out of the dual G3 Flying Five S. winner Flowing (El Gran Senor) whose other daughter Narjis Flower (Pleasant Colony) produced the GII San Clemente H. scorer Storm Mesa (Sky Mesa). Power of Light's yearling filly is by Sepoy (Aus).
Thursday, Doncaster, Britain
WILLIAM HILL MAY HILL S.-G2, £70,000, Doncaster, 9-12, 2yo, f, 8fT, 1:39.31, g/f.
1–POWERFUL BREEZE (GB), 126, f, 2, by Iffraaj (GB)
1st Dam: Power of Light (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Echo of Light (GB)
2nd Dam: Dubai Power (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
3rd Dam: Garmoucheh, by Silver Hawk
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (50,000gns Ylg '18 TATOCT). O-Dr Ali Ridha; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Hugo Palmer; J-James Doyle. £39,697. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $55,283. Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Boomer (GB), 126, f, 2, Kingman (GB)">Kingman (GB)–Wall of Sound (GB), by Singspiel (Ire). O/B-Chasemore Farm (GB); T-Tom Dascombe. £15,050.
3–Alpen Rose (Ire), 126, f, 2, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Valais Girl (GB), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). (€750,000 Ylg '18 GOFOR). O-Godolphin; B-Sunderland Holdings Inc (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £7,532.
Margins: 1, NK, HF. Odds: 6.00, 8.00, 10.00.
Also Ran: Run Wild (Ger), Ananya (GB), Cloak of Spirits (Ire), Passion (Ire), West End Girl (GB), Anna of Sussex (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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