Fury

Fury was almost certainly the best horse in the one-mile Listed Heron Stakes run at Sandown last Thursday night, and he was slightly unlucky not to win. Both he and the winner Tazahum were held up in the five-runner field and came right towards the stands side in the straight, but it was Tazahum who was right up against the stands side and probably had the advantage of the slightly faster ground with Fury slightly away from the near rail. Fury had picked up really nicely to take a narrow lead into the final 150 yards, and looked the winner all the way to the line, but Tazahum’s head just happened to be down on the line.

Both horses are useful types, indeed this was a very good race with Neebras looking very handy on his previous start, albeit in a small field conditions event, and Pausanias winning the Free Handicap on his previous run. Fury has been highly tried in his short career, and looks capable of further improvement. Pitched straight into the £500,000 Tattersalls Millions 2-y-o Trophy last season on the back of a seven-furlong Newbury maiden win, and sent off the joint favourite for the race, he showed a good turn of foot and had enough about him to come out on top of the 27-strong field. He was well touted ahead of his return in the Guineas, he was strong in the market for that race, even though he had missed his intended prep run, and he ran respectably, finished fifth, staying on to pull a little way clear of those in behind, some way adrift of the front three though.

Fallon was anxious not to give Fury too hard a race here, presumably connections have Royal Ascot in mind, and he could probably have won this if he had given the horse a slightly harder time of it late on. He lost little in defeat though, he was probably the best horse in the race, and he, like the winner, has plenty of scope for progression. If he does go to Royal Ascot and stays at a mile then he will have to take on Frankel again in the St James’s Palace Stakes, an unenviable task, but it could well be that that race cuts up as many seek to avoid the Guineas winner, and it may provide Fury with a chance to further enhance his CV. The Jersey Stakes is an obvious alternative. He has the pace and the breeding to be at least as effective over seven furlongs as he is over a mile. The shorter distance, the distance over which he won his maiden and that valuable sales race, may even be his optimum.

28th May 2011