Sandown Notes 20/5

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stodge

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I've just got back from Esher where, despite a glorious evening, only a modest crowd attended the evening's action.

Two performances of particular note were MAQASSID in the opening juvenile fillies maiden and SAJJHAA in the 3-y-o maiden.

The former is a tall, striking filly who dominated the paddock and they weren't a bad bunch at all. She was slowly away and sat almost last for the first half of the race. She cut through the field and led entering the final furlong and won cosily without Richard Hills having to pick up the whip.

Around the winners' enclosure afterward, all the talk was of the Queen Mary but though she's got speed, she didn't look a speedball to me. If she were mine, I'd wait for the Cherry Hinton and then maybe the Lowther. The breeding suggests speed (by Green Desert out of a Storm Cat mare) but the half-sisters have stayed a mile (she's related to GHANIMAH and a family well known to the Maktoums) so I just wonder if I've seen a 2011 Guineas filly.

The dogs were barking for SAJJHAA before the maiden - she was always around 11/8 or 5/4 but there wasn't a flood of on-course money (no surprise given the modest crowd). Frankie kept her wide from the start but she quickened really nicely meeting the rising ground a furlong and a half out and went on to win by seven lengths.

To be fair, this was a poor race by Sandown standards and the second favourite WEATHERVANE ran moderately. I think an Oaks entry is unrealistic given this was her debut but I can see her as a Ribblesdale contender - she's out of a Darshaan mare so an extra two furlong shouldn't be an issue.

Obviously, any black type would make her a hugely attractive broodmare in time and I'm loath to get excited given the quality of the opposition tonight but she's obviously got some ability and time will tell just how far she can go.

Four others went into the Stodge notebook tonight and I offer them as ones to keep an eye on next time:

ELSHABAKIYA - a juvenile filly trained by Clive Brittain who chased home MAQAASID in the opener. She looks a workmanlike sort who could be a real bargain for connections.

OLYMPIC MEDAL - from the Roger Charlton stable. She was making her debut in the 3-y-o maiden and was last and being scrubbed along three furlongs out. The penny dropped two furlongs out and she made good headway to finish on the heels of the placed runners. No match for the winner admittedly, but she will come on a ton for tonight's run.

DEAUVILLE RUN - joint favourite for the 3-y-o staying handicap but given an awful ride by Richard Hughes who conspired to get himself completely boxed in in a race where they went a strong early gallop and the leaders were walking home up the hill. Frankie got a clear run on ROCK A DOODLE DOO but ran out of stamina in the final furlong. Richard Hughes got trapped in amongst weakening horses and this run is best forgotten. He could be a Queen's Vase type.

BRUSHING - got outpaced in the concluding handicap but made eye-catching progress to finish fourth. One to follow over further. Her previous run was a failure at Pontefract which is even stiffer than Sandown. Tonight it all happened too quickly over nine furlongs.
 
I think you're being a bit hard on Hughes over his ride on Deauville Post. I backed the horse despite the stamina doubts and I thought Hughes was simply unlucky in that a couple of horses on his outside edged across and took his ground just as he was trying to make headway. I certainly wasn't blaming the jockey. He didn't really make inroads thereafter anyway and I'd be thinking about dropping him back rather than stepping him up in trip next time out.
 
I'm with Gus. The poorest ride in the race was by Richard Hills I thought. Although the early pace was sound with the field well strung out, it slowed down the back straight and rather than take the bull by the horns on a strong galloper, Hills sat there and let the race develop around him and his mount just didn't have the pace to keep himself out of trouble when it got messy 2f out. A proper galloping track and probably a step up in trip should see him win off his current mark. I'll also be following The Morrison horse near to hand.
 
DJ - do you not consider Sandown to be a 'proper galloping track'? I'd have thought it wasn't too bad as that, but interested in your thoughts as to why it's not. There are so many which are more twisty, up and down, cambered, or just plain lumpy. (This is not an argument, just an inquiry!) :)
 
krizon said:
DJ - do you not consider Sandown to be a 'proper galloping track'? I'd have thought it wasn't too bad as that, but interested in your thoughts as to why it's not. There are so many which are more twisty, up and down, cambered, or just plain lumpy. (This is not an argument, just an inquiry!) :)
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Don't think DJ was suggesting that Kri, merely that the slackening of the pace negated the characteristics - no point having a big galloping track if no bugger will go a gallop!
 
Oh, I see! :blink: (Are you still charging only a fiver for interpretations for the intellectually challenged?)
 
Race Watching

Thanks for the comments on the 3-y-o staying handicap on Thursday night.

My pre-race "reading" was that it would be a strong pace with a number of confirmed front-runners. I thought ATLANTIC TIGER would lead and set up the pace for the hold-up horses among whom DEAUVILLE POST seemed to have fewer stamina worries after his Haydock win.

As they passed the stands after the start, they were going plenty quick enough and a number were vying for the lead. That part of the race was won by Hayley Turner on IRON CONDOR who beat Richard Hills for the rail position at the top of the hill and went on down the side.

Now, without the benefit of sectional timing, it wasn't clear the extent to which the pace had slowed in the back straight and my assumption was that Richard Hills was happy with the gallop otherwise he'd have gone on.

IRON CONDOR was brushed aside pretty quickly in the straight which again suggested to me they had gone quickly enough and they didn't seem to finish well up the hill. ROCK A DOODLE DOO got there but then, as I thought would happen when I saw him at Lingfield, got outstayed by DESERT RECLUSE who was match-fit this being his sixth outing of the season.

What I found hard to grasp about Hughes's ride was that he did not try to move to the outside earlier. He seemed to have plenty of horse and as his form didn't suggest speed, a long steady run up the outside up the hill looked the only option. Trying to stop-start and weave through runners was never going to suit a horse which is clearly a galloper. As soon as his run was stopped and momentum lost, that was it.

Would he have won with a clear run ? I simply don't know - he was trying to give 11 lbs to the winner which might turn out to have been an impossible task.

Two other thoughts - the staying 3-y-o are still maturing and growing. Some of these will do much better in three or four months with further physical development.

Second, did I see any aspiring novice hurdlers in this race ? I know it's early but STADIUM OF LIGHT caught my eye as one who could do well over timber later in the summer or early autumn.

Is it too early to talk about the 2011 Triumph ? Not on this forum.
​
 
Brushing won today at Carlisle - 11/4f.

stodge said:
I've just got back from Esher where, despite a glorious evening, only a modest crowd attended the evening's action.

Two performances of particular note were MAQASSID in the opening juvenile fillies maiden and SAJJHAA in the 3-y-o maiden.

The former is a tall, striking filly who dominated the paddock and they weren't a bad bunch at all. She was slowly away and sat almost last for the first half of the race. She cut through the field and led entering the final furlong and won cosily without Richard Hills having to pick up the whip.

Around the winners' enclosure afterward, all the talk was of the Queen Mary but though she's got speed, she didn't look a speedball to me. If she were mine, I'd wait for the Cherry Hinton and then maybe the Lowther. The breeding suggests speed (by Green Desert out of a Storm Cat mare) but the half-sisters have stayed a mile (she's related to GHANIMAH and a family well known to the Maktoums) so I just wonder if I've seen a 2011 Guineas filly.

The dogs were barking for SAJJHAA before the maiden - she was always around 11/8 or 5/4 but there wasn't a flood of on-course money (no surprise given the modest crowd). Frankie kept her wide from the start but she quickened really nicely meeting the rising ground a furlong and a half out and went on to win by seven lengths.

To be fair, this was a poor race by Sandown standards and the second favourite WEATHERVANE ran moderately. I think an Oaks entry is unrealistic given this was her debut but I can see her as a Ribblesdale contender - she's out of a Darshaan mare so an extra two furlong shouldn't be an issue.

Obviously, any black type would make her a hugely attractive broodmare in time and I'm loath to get excited given the quality of the opposition tonight but she's obviously got some ability and time will tell just how far she can go.

Four others went into the Stodge notebook tonight and I offer them as ones to keep an eye on next time:

ELSHABAKIYA - a juvenile filly trained by Clive Brittain who chased home MAQAASID in the opener. She looks a workmanlike sort who could be a real bargain for connections.

OLYMPIC MEDAL - from the Roger Charlton stable. She was making her debut in the 3-y-o maiden and was last and being scrubbed along three furlongs out. The penny dropped two furlongs out and she made good headway to finish on the heels of the placed runners. No match for the winner admittedly, but she will come on a ton for tonight's run.

DEAUVILLE RUN - joint favourite for the 3-y-o staying handicap but given an awful ride by Richard Hughes who conspired to get himself completely boxed in in a race where they went a strong early gallop and the leaders were walking home up the hill. Frankie got a clear run on ROCK A DOODLE DOO but ran out of stamina in the final furlong. Richard Hughes got trapped in amongst weakening horses and this run is best forgotten. He could be a Queen's Vase type.

BRUSHING - got outpaced in the concluding handicap but made eye-catching progress to finish fourth. One to follow over further. Her previous run was a failure at Pontefract which is even stiffer than Sandown. Tonight it all happened too quickly over nine furlongs.
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Good to Know..

Thank you, Michael. I had a small investment but if you're gaining at Sandown, the finish at Carlisle will be even more to your liking so I thought he was a solid bet at the price.

ELSHABAKIYA runs at Leicester tomorrow over five furlongs in a four-runner maiden. I suspect she'll meet nothing of Maqaasid's quality.
 
stodge said:
ELSHABAKIYA - a juvenile filly trained by Clive Brittain who chased home MAQAASID in the opener. She looks a workmanlike sort who could be a real bargain for connections.
Click to expand...

Out tommorrow in what looks a pretty warm fillies maiden at Leicester. Watching the Sandown race back, I'd certainly expect Tom Dascombe's Countess Ellen to finish a fair bit closer to Elshabakiya tommorrow anyway.
 
Atlantic Tiger back in action 4.30 York. Track and trip look fine, Motrice to beat but not sure the race she won at Haydock had much depth and I don't think this will be as easy as her price and theoretical chance at the weights (10 lb well in) suggests. Atlantic Toger worth a few quid at 9/2 I reckon.
 
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