Flora Trevelyan

She was well backed all morning, and the race panned out well for her, with Dunn’o and Benandonner going at each other up front from early and making this a true test over a mile, and her trainer Walter Swinburn’s horses are hitting form now after a month of near-misses (Stotsfold won the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes earlier in the evening), but Flora Trevelyan still put up an impressive performance in winning the finale at Sandown on Thursday evening, the Class 3 one-mile handicap. She had the pace to take up the ideal early position at her ease, disputing third place with Invisible Man three lengths off the duelling leaders, she travelled well around the home turn, she eased her way up to the leaders early in the home straight, took Benandonner’s measure and moved to within a half a length of Dunn’o with minimal effort from Ted Durkan passing the two-furlong marker, and then hit the front and pulled nicely clear of her rivals when Durkan went for her, staying on really well all the way to the line to win by over four lengths, eased down.

This was a truly-run race, Dunn’o ensured that, and he set a fair standard, he is a solid 93-rated horse who is probably a little better than that, and he kept on well as he always does to finish third, while Ithinkbest, who just got up and did Dunn’o for second place, was a nicely progressive three-year-old towards the end of last season. Also, the time of the race was good, the second fastest comparative time of the evening, just 0.33secs slower than standard and almost two seconds faster than the time that the potentially high class Fallen Idol clocked in winning the Heron Stakes a half an hour earlier over the same course and distance. Flora Trevelyan herself disappointed on her final run last season when stepped up in grade to listed class, but she shaped with a lot of promise when she finished fourth to the highly talented Alsace Lorraine in a good fillies’ handicap at Ascot earlier this month, when she was noted staying on well at the end of that straight mile. She was left on her Ascot mark of 87 for Sandown’s race and, while the handicapper will have his say now, she is progressive, she has raced just seven times now in her life and she continues to improve. A fast-run mile suits her well, but she could improve further for an even stiffer test of stamina.

27th May 2010