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Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner Zarigana has been confirmed for the 1m Coronation Stakes on Friday at Royal Ascot and heads a competitive field of fifteen, including two supplementary entries.
Zarigana's task in the Coronation Stakes had appeared fairly straightforward with the absence of 1000 Guineas heroine Desert Flower, Irish 1000 Guineas winner Lake Victoria and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches second Shes Perfect, yet the supplementary entries of two fillies has changed the shape of the race. Owen Burrows' unbeaten Falakayeh was an easy three-and-a-quarter winner of the 1m2f Listed Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket, with connections confident that the drop back to a mile will suit the Shadwell filly.
In a statement on Shadwell's website, racing manager Angus Gold said: "Jim (Crowley) has been saying all spring 'this filly has plenty of speed' and she showed that when she won at Newmarket on her first start of the year.
"Once we had decided not to stretch her stamina to a mile and a half in the Oaks, the next option was the Prix de Diane. However, she did not scope clean two weeks ago, so Owen and the team gave her time and sorted it out, but the net result was the timescale proved too tight to get her back to peak fitness for the Diane, especially with the travelling over to France.
"Owen feels she is now back to where she was before the dirty scope. He's very happy with her and together we feel the Coronation is the right race for her now. Jim believes she has the pace to be competitive at a mile at that level. She's definitely got a lot of class, and we are looking forward to Friday."
The second supplementary entry was the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Kon Tiki, who also remains unbeaten, making a smooth transition into Stakes company with a comfortable success in the 1m Listed Michael Seely Memorial Fillies' Stakes at York.
These leading three fillies are set to be joined O'Brien duo Exactly and January, 1000 Guineas fifth Chantilly Lace and the Ollie Sangster-trained pair Flight and Simmering.
