Bullwhip

Bullwhip bounced back to form with a really good performance to win a seven-furlong handicap on easy ground at Newmarket on Saturday. Drawn in stall 14, he raced on the near side, and travelled okay in mid-division of the 15-runner field and came under pressure well over two furlongs out, but he found plenty and bounded clear on the run-in to win by an impressive four lengths.

There was a lot to like about this performance from Bullwhip, it may have taken him a while to get going but he picked up and really stayed on well in the closing stages to win in a good time. He had been a bit disappointing this season after he won his maiden so impressively on his racecourse debut, but in saying that, you could excuse some of his runs, he missed the break and had to race on the wide outside at Haydock on his last run before Saturday, and he had run a nice race at Sandown in June on just his fourth ever run. He was staying on nicely that day when he didn’t have a clear run in that seven-furlong race won by Crown Choice, after which he wasn’t not knocked about by William Buick.

The son of Whipper obviously has talent and he should be able to build on this now, he is still relatively lightly-raced so it is likely that we haven’t seen the best of him yet. He handled the soft surface well here, he won his maiden on an easy surface as well, so that bodes well for the rest of the season as the ground conditions are becoming softer coming into the autumn. The handicapper has raised him 9lb to a mark of 99, but that may not be enough to halt his progress, especially on easy ground.

28th August 2010