Saeed bin Suroor – name ring a bell? Once a staple of American racing as chief trainer for Godolphin, bin Suroor hasn’t started a horse in America since 2019 and hasn’t won here since 2011. He has found quite the spot for his return, bringing Mawj to Keeneland for what might be the best-ever renewal of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. Mawj is part of an overflow field of 13 entered in the Grade 1, $600,000 QE II, a 1 1/8-mile grass race for 3-year-old fillies. Only 12 can start, and it’s a doozy of dozen in the field’s main body. How tough is the race? Chad Brown has trained four of the last five QE II winners, yet Brown’s entrants, Liguria and Prerequisite are, respectively, 15-1 and 20-1 on the morning line. While an overseas shipper hasn’t won the QE II since Together came in 2011, there are three good ones this year, led by Mawj, winner of the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas in May. Keeneland could be a stopover on the way to Santa Anita, with Mawj a potential runner in either the Breeders’ Cup Mile or Filly and Mare Turf. Sounds of Heaven, third in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, and Elounda Queen, an improving 3-year-old filly privately purchased since a flashy last-to-first Group 3 win in France, also have shipped overseas. :: Bet Keeneland with confidence! Get DRF PPs, Picks and more. Two others, Lindy and Elusive Princess, came from France earlier this year and have made an American start. Lindy, second to top-class Blue Rose Cen in the French 1000 Guineas, won a Kentucky Downs allowance race, while Group 1-placed Elusive Princess cruised to an easy victory in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks on Aug. 4. Bin Suroor, based in England and Dubai, was displaced years ago as Godolphin’s top trainer by Mahmood al Zarooni. Charlie Appleby succeeded al Zarooni and now gets the cream of the Godolphin crop, but back in the day, bin Suroor was the man, even running an East Coast string during the late aughts. During 2008-09, bin Suroor went 21 for 81 in American graded stakes races. Mawj was a Group 2 winner over six furlongs as a 2-year-old, thumped inferior competition in two Dubai starts, then defeated heavily favored Tahiyra by a half-length in the Guineas. A very soft course blunted Tahiyra’s brilliance, though Mawj and Tahiyra finished more than seven lengths in front of the third horse. Mawj contracted a chest infection shortly thereafter and only now is set for her first post-Guineas start. She has yet to race beyond one mile and is no sure thing to get 1 1/8 miles: Progeny by her sire, Exceed and Excel, have an average winning distance of 6.8 furlongs, and Mawj is a half-sister to crack miler Modern Games. She and jockey Oisin Murphy are 2-1 on the morning line, a bad bet at that price. Light rain was forecast late this week in Lexington; the grass course should at least be rated good, good news for the Jessica Harrington-trained Sounds of Heaven. Sounds of Heaven clearly struggled over soft going when last seeing action July 30 in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild, but on much firmer footing she was beaten a nose for second while losing to Tahiyra by one length in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot. Sounds of Heaven races forwardly and should not be far off the pace, likely to come from Heavenly Sunday and Prerequisite. American connections Living the Dream and Agave Racing bought Elounda Queen following her Group 3 score Aug. 15 at Deauville. Trained (at least through Saturday) by Jean-Claude Rouget, Elounda Queen finished fifth in her highest-level race, the Prix Sandringham, won by Breeders’ Cup Mile-bound Kelina. She hit a career peak winning her most recent start, passing 10 horses in the homestretch thanks to a final 600 meters in a blazing 34.89 seconds. Elusive Princess makes her first start for trainer Arnaud Delacour, whose barn she joined after winning the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Oaks by more than three lengths. Third in that race was Papilio, among the more capable American-based QE II runners, but Elusive Princess has run in a race as short as 1 1/8 miles only once in her career and Saturday’s contest might not be long enough for her. :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Lindy stands a strong chance for trainer Brendan Walsh. She won her first three races before Blue Rose Cen, France’s best 3-year-old filly, beat her in the Prix de la Grotte and the French 1000 Guineas. Lindy wants to race from off the pace and got a bizarre ride in the French Oaks, where she led and faded, and at Kentucky Downs, she won usefully over soft ground, though Lindy prefers firmer going. Mission of Joy, Safeen, and Be Your Best are legitimate American graded stakes horses. They’re in too deep in this QE II. ◗ First Mission races for the first time since winning the Lexington Stakes in April when he starts in race 10 on Saturday, a second-level dirt-route allowance with an $80,000 claiming option. First Mission might have been favored in the Preakness Stakes on May 20 but was a veterinarian scratch 36 hours before the race. He’s been working steadily since Aug. 29 for trainer Brad Cox. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.