Lutine Bell

Lutine Bell is well worth noting after a highly encouraging effort in a Class 2 0-105 six-furlong handicap at Goodwood last Saturday. He missed the break completely, and consequently found himself a couple of lengths adrift early on. They didn’t go a great gallop, which didn’t help him as not only did he have to make up lost ground against horses who weren’t really stopping out in front late on, but he was also quite lit up as a result of finding himself out the back, he has raced prominently on his last couple of starts. He travelled powerfully to the two-furlong pole, at which point he was asked for his effort, and he found willingly for pressure, having to angle out slightly between horses before running on really strongly, closing down on the second and third all the way to the line. The winner burst through towards the far side of the group, a few horses away, and Lutine Bell may not have seen him. Nevertheless, Mike Murphy’s horse finished best of all and was in front at the pull up.

Having gone back up 1lb for this run, the Starcraft gelding is 12lb higher than his previous highest winning mark, but he seems to have found his niche at six furlongs judged on his two runs at the trip this term. The first of them was a highly encouraging fourth behind Horseradish, Waffle and Our Jonathan, all three of whom have franked the form more than once since. This latest run came after a disappointing effort when stepped back up to seven furlongs in the Victoria Cup at Ascot, and it now seems sensible to keep him at six. He is still in the Wokingham, and he would be interesting in that, a fast-run six-furlong handicap. Best odds of 50/1 about him for that would be far too big if you knew that he was a definite runner in the race.

While he does have a few quirks about him, in particular a history of being slowly away, which will always be a worry, if he can be persuaded to break on terms he looks well up to winning a big race off a mark of 92. Sold out of Sir Mark Prescott’s yard towards the end of last year, Mike Murphy has got four really good runs out of him in six tries and, as a four-year-old, there should be even more to come from him. He is certainly worth noting now.

21st May 2011