Thaahira

It was only a Class 4 10-furlong maiden that Thaahira won at Chester on Wednesday, but it is often a good maiden, and she impressed in winning it. Settled nicely in behind, she travelled sweetly, and showed a smart turn of foot and a really likeable willing attitude to come from well behind to catch and pass Cultivar, who had led from flagfall and kicked from the front, stealing four lengths on his field and looking home for all money, before Thaahira got going. She caught him inside the furlong pole and pulled away to win impressively.

A daughter of Dynaformer out of Irish Guineas winner Mehthaaf, from a family that seems to show improvement from two to three, Thaahira didn’t make her racecourse debut until last October, and she shaped with a degree of promise when fifth in that seven-furlong maiden at Salisbury, her only previous run. She is interesting now, she should stay a mile and a half, and she should progress again for this experience. She holds an entry in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, and she may not be out of her depth in that.

5th May 2010