There are no hiding places at Royal Ascot, and Falakeyah is set to have her star quality tested when she steps up to the highest level against Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas, G1) winner Zarigana in the June 20 Coronation Stakes (G1).
Owned by Shadwell, Falakeyah won a maiden on her sole start at 2 last year before stretching comfortably clear of Life Is Beautiful when stepped up to a mile and a quarter in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket.
Her connections decided against stepping her up in trip for the Epsom Oaks (G1) and after she was not quite ready for the Prix de Diane (G1), the daughter of New Bay was supplemented for this drop back down to a mile.
"We're excited to run but we mustn't forget it's early days and we're still learning about her," said Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold. "She was visually impressive the other day, but we still don't fully know her best trip. We know that she stays further, which she proved at Newmarket, but she loves to get on with it and is exuberant in her style of running. We'll have to see whether she has the pace for a group 1 back at a mile.
"I had felt she was going to be a mile-and-a-quarter filly. She looked like she was really getting into her stride at the end of her debut last year. However, Jim Crowley's first comment when he got off her in the Pretty Polly was that she'd have killed them over a mile and he felt she'd have gone close in the One Thousand Guineas. She's really bouncing and I'm a great believer that you've got to run horses when they're showing their wellbeing."
Among those standing in her way is Zarigana who, after narrowly scoring on her seasonal reappearance, was awarded the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches last time after the demotion of first-past-the-post Shes Perfect.
"She's in very good form and physically I can't have her in better condition," trainer Francis Graffard said. "She'll enjoy the fast ground but we need a good trip. She's a bit of a 'madame' so I have my fingers crossed. But she's in top form to produce her best. I would love to see her not too far back and not stuck out on her own in the middle of the track, so she can produce that acceleration.
"She just needs to get a normal-run round. I think she's a very talented filly but she's not Zarkava. I'm not over-confident with her but she deserves to be one of the favorites for the race. I'm going there very humbly because it's so hard to win these group 1s, especially at Royal Ascot."
