Second Step

Second Step put up a good performance to win a listed 12-furlong contest at The Curragh on Sunday.

Travelling well just behind the leaders on the far side in the home straight, Luca Cumani’s gelding picked up impressively for Andrea Atzeni once he got a gap on the far side inside the final furlong, and he kept on well all the way to the line to win by a half a length.

This was a good race. Runner-up Chance To Dance finished third in Free Eagle’s race at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend and is progressive, while third-placed Altesse, trained, like the runner-up, by Jim Bolger, is a lightly-raced progressive filly who was second in listed races on her previous two runs. The five horses who chased the winner home were all rated 100 or more. It is solid form.

This was a fair performance from Second Step, given that he was rated just 93 going into the race, and he is highly progressive himself. He won his first two races this season, over 10 and 12 furlongs and, while he was well beaten in Battersea’s race at Ascot in early September, you can easily forgive him that, given that he was held up in a race that was run to suit the prominent racers. This was much more like it, he is probably better held up just behind the pace as opposed to being held up in rear, and he should be able to continue to progress. The handicapper will probably give him a fair hike for this, but he is probably deserving of a three-figure mark now. He has raced just six times, and he should continue to progress next season. He acts well on easy ground as well as on good ground, and he stays a mile and a half well.

12th October 2014