Darjina to delight.

BRITISH racegoers have seen many of the major home prizes carried off by Aidan O'Brien's team this season, and Newmarket revellers should prepare to see another Group One going to a foreign challenger.

However, the one-mile UAE Hydra Properties Falmouth Stakes is expected to be disappearing across the English Channel rather than the Irish Sea, with the French-trained Darjina hard to oppose.

Trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, this Zamindar filly is a genuine Group One campaigner, having struck at the highest level no fewer than three times in the past.

She has also run some smashing races in defeat, most notably when finding only Haradasun a head too strong in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot last month.

That tremendous effort went a long way to dispelling the myth that Darjina fails to sparkle when on her travels, as did her second in the Dubai Duty Free at Nad Al Sheba in March. Newmarket's July course does not suit every horse, but there is no doubting Darjina possesses rock-solid credentials.

She is a much better horse on decent ground and the possibility of a rain-softened surface is the only concern, with a repeat of her Ascot form expected to be good enough if Newmarket misses the heavy showers.

Lucky Leigh went into plenty of notebooks when hosing up at Redcar on her debut and confirmed the decent impression made on that occasion when taking a close fourth at Royal Ascot.

Mick Channon's filly was beaten less than a length in the Queen Mary last time and that form reads well in the context of what looks a below-par Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cherry Hinton Stakes.

Lucky Leigh did best of those drawn high and, considering horses berthed in double-figure stalls struggled all week, that suggests she is definitely the one to beat here. William Haggas has been firing in the winners of late and he has every chance of hitting the target again with Wise Melody in the richly-endowed toteswinger Stakes.

This improving youngster stayed on really strongly to slam another progressive sort last time, and she could well prove a lot better than her current handicap mark of 87.

Another lightly-raced member of the fairer sex who looks to have got off lightly when assessed by the handicapper is John Dunlop's Badweia.

She looked well above-average when winning at Newbury at the end of M a y.

Numero Due has been running with great credit for George Moore this term and should be very closely involved at Catterick.

In what amounts to a slight drop in class after running well at York last time, this six-year-old can take the "Turmeric" Handicap with Neil Brown claiming a handy 5lb.

CAPTION(S):

DISPELLED MYTH: Darjina