Set The Trend

Set The Trend looked good when taking a decent one mile-handicap on Shergar Cup day at Ascot on Saturday. He settled well in behind the leaders here, the ease in the ground probably helped him and he was well-placed and travelling well as they turned onto the straight. He tracked the leader Dunn’o all the way, and he took it up for his Australian jockey Liam Nolen just inside the final furlong, keeping on well all the way to the line.

This was decent performance from Andrew Balding’s gelding, he travelled well, he picked up nicely, and the time was good, the joint-second fastest comparative time of the day. He is progressive, he was unraced as a juvenile and this was just his third run of the season. He had run a cracker on his debut this season when he was only just beaten by Tartan Gigha in the Investec Mile over an extended mile at Epsom on Derby weekend, and you can forgive him his subsequent run at Sandown, when he was wide and keen from a low draw for much of the race. The ease in ground here suited him and he stays a mile well. The handicapper has raised him 6lb to a mark of 100 for this, but there should be more to come, and he would be a player in the Cambridgeshire if he is aimed at that now. His rating of 100 is spot on (the last five winners were all rated between 97 and 102 and seven of the last eight winners were rated between 95 and 102) and the nine-furlong trip on easy ground should suit him well.

7th August 2010