In what was a Class 5 handicap of relatively unexposed types, we've picked out two from the race who were both running over 1m 2f for the first time.
The first horse we'll take a look at is the William Haggas trained WINK OF AN EYE. A Dubawi gelding, he was disappointing to say the least in his debut season last season finishing eighth twice and then fourth in his first three starts. However he debuted as a three year old in stylish fashion on Saturday.
Held up towards the rear, he hit plenty of traffic in running after the eventual winner got the first run on the rest of the pack. Despite being around 12 lengths down hitting the final furlong market, he flew home down the outside to finish a hard fought two lengths second. A step up in trip may suit next time out and he looks like he could be a nice little stayer for William Haggas.
The second horse we'll have a look at now is the Qatar Racing owned RUSHMORE. By Lope De Vega to three winner Qushchi, he's half brother to Listed winner Mrs Sippy who has won in both France and the States.
Similar to Wink Of An Eye, he was held up but a little closer to the leading pack in the early stages of the race. He was off the bridle before the three furlong marker but never really responded to pressure until the final furlong when he got a nice run down the inside rail.
Despite finishing well back, his dam and half sister were both winners over 1m 4f and a step up to that distance could well be the next step for him.
