Sand Vixen

Sand Vixen was a really impressive winner of the Flying Childers at Doncaster on Friday. Always travelling well just behind the leaders, she picked up nicely when Frankie Dettori switched her to the far side to deliver her challenge, and she kept on really well all the way to the line, probably winning with a fair bit more in hand than the one-length winning margin. Favourite Misheer was disappointing, five furlongs on fast ground is probably too much of a speed test for Clive Brittain’s filly and she can be seen to better effect over six furlongs and probably on easier ground, and the well-backed Our Jonathan fluffed the start and is also worthy of another chance, so the form could be questioned, but Sand Vixen did it well, and the third horse, Mister Manannan, ran out a really impressive winner of a listed race at Ayr on the Friday of the Ayr Gold Cup meeting. Also, the time was good, a juveniles’ course record, and Dettori said afterwards that Sand Vixen was the most improved horse in the yard. She is in the Cheveley Park next, she is all speed but she should be well able to cope with the step back up to six furlongs, the distance over which she won her maiden, and she will be a big player in the Cheveley Park.

11th September 2009