Result : The Hugo De Pero Special Stakes
Time : 1:30 3/5 : 1st – 2 Mr Bandito – Oaklawn88 – W. Lloyd – 2-1fav
Settled towards rear 6l 4th 3 1/2f out. Smooth headway rounding home turn and went 2nd just over 1f out. Hard ridden to get up in the final 100 yards.
+ 1-1/2 L : 2nd – 5 Dragon City – asoiaf – C. Roser – 5-1
Led at decent pace, travelling strongly and 3L clear with just over 3f to run. Ridden bend but still 2l up with a furlong to run. Joined well inside final furlong and faded final 50 yards.
+ 2-1/4 L : 3rd – 4 Boulchique – Baronfarms – K. Ledwith – 5-2
Mid division early. 3L 3rd and brief effort 3f out. Kept on same pace.
+ 4 L : 4th – 3 Proud And Bold – Avalanche – A. Hudson – 4-1
Tracked leader and every chance 3f out. Under pressure home stretch. One paced final furlong.
+ 11 L : 5th – 1 Swift Drift – Donut – G. Arnold – 7-2
Lost ground start. 6 1/2L 5th halfway. Kept on same pace.
+ dist : 6th – 6 Silver Colony – Gamble4fun – W. Manful – 7-1
Badly outpaced and soon in rear. Tailed off.
Analysis
Dropped out early on and probably not enjoying the softish conditions Mr Bandito done extremely well to win here. Not looking like he`d catch the leader turning for home, a final burst of speed saw him outstay this lot. He`s clearly destined for better things and it would be no surprise to see him routing in furure, possibly in Graded class.
Dragon City tried to make all and ran a cracker considering he`d never faced this type of ground before. Clearly back to his best, this precocious sort is worth keeping on the right side of in these turf Stakes sprints.
Boulchique ran a flat sort of race in third which was nowhere near the level of his Equinics victory. He had a clear passage and no excuses but his best form is over shorter and it would be of no surprise to see him bounce back when sprinting again.
Proud And Bold ran an eyecatching race in 4th. Clearly not enjoying the ground, he showed up for alot of the way before tiring in the closing stages. Based on this effort he`ll be winning again.