IT was this day two weeks ago that Princess Zoe announced herself on the Irish racing scene. Backed down from prices as high as 10/1 for the last-race Ladies’ Derby on Irish Oaks day at the Curragh, the former Germany-based mare made a mockery of her mark of 70, shooting clear under Jody Townend.

That resulted in a 13lb rise to a mark of 83 but that was no problem at all at Galway on Monday night as again her turn of foot was seen to significant effect late on in the Connacht Hotel Handicap, the race they call the Amateur’s Derby.

Today she has a 7lb penalty to defy in the race they could call the Galway Derby, seeing as it is over a mile and a half and is instead open to the professionals. Joey Sheridan negates 5lbs of that penalty, and considering she has already proven herself around the course, Tony Mullins’s mare has plenty going for her.

It wouldn’t be a bad two weeks for her connections if she won again as it would be another €44,250 to match her winnings from Monday, and when you add that to the €12,000 she won at the Curragh, you’re into a six-figure sum.

The bridge between today’s feature race at Galway, usually known as the Guinness Handicap but today as the Galway Shopping Centre Handicap due to the schedule reshuffle, and Monday’s feature race has become more solid in recent years.

Last year Mr Adjudicator won today’s race after finishing a luckless fourth in the amateurs’ race. Two years ago Limini finished second in the amateur race and then third over the mile and a half. Three years ago Whiskey Sour won both races.

Interestingly, Willie Mullins has sent out four of the last five winners of today’s race but has no representative this time. Instead brothers Tony and Tom (who runs two) represent the family.

Saturday at Galway usually features plenty of horses coming back for their second run of the week and that is the case in the mile handicap at 4:15 in which Talking Tough and Soaring Monarch, first and second in a race over the same distance on Monday night, take each other on again.

Dark Voyager also finished second on Monday and has already had that form boosted through The Flying Scotsman who won again on Tuesday. Willie Mullins’s horse bids to go one better himself in the final race on the card.

Snow forecast at Goodwood

AIDAN O’Brien trained a filly named after the famous 19th century actress Lillie Langtry to win the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, but he is yet to win the Group 2 named after her at Goodwood today.

However, he has only really begun to target the race in recent seasons and South Sea Pearl finished close to Enbihaar and Manuela De Vega here last season. Those two fillies are back in the race again today and O’Brien will pit another interesting three-year-old against them in Snow.

Her overall form took a boost through the exploits of One Voice in Thursday’s Nassau Stakes and as a sister to recently retired St Leger winner Kew Gardens, she is of significant interest now on her first start over 14 furlongs.

There has only been one Irish-trained winner of this race, coming from perhaps one of the most unlikely sources, that of Mick Winters’s yard. The Cork trainer famously sent out Galway Hurdle winner Missunited to take this in 2014, her all-out performance nearly causing the Ladbrokes tent to cave in back in Ballybrit.

FLAT racing resumes at Galway for the weekend and as ever the draw is key, especially over seven furlongs and the extended mile. Discounting maidens, which had lower-number fields, there were eight races over both these trips on Monday and Tuesday. In the eight races, only six of the 24 top-three placers came from a double-figure draw.

Interestingly, two of them came in the Colm Quinn BMW Mile: Saltonstall from 12 and Njord from 18. Both were given excellent and contrasting rides. Gavin Ryan sat in on Saltonstall and was still last coming down the hill, riding for luck instead of rounding the field. Njord and Tom Madden came from a wider berth in 18, and were basically four off the rail the whole way before moving over to the rail when kicking to the front in the straight.

Njord was only just caught by the winner but has a chance of another big pot tomorrow in the Ahonoora Handicap. Perhaps significantly, he is drawn seven this time, so may be able to attain a better racing position.