Incendo

You can put a line through Incendo’s run in the 12-furlong handicap at York on Wednesday won by Deauville Flyer. Drawn widest of the 20 runners in stall 20, he was slowly away, and allowed settle right at the back of the field, with only Camps Bay, who dwelt at the start, behind him. This wasn’t a race in which too many got into it from the rear, as is often the case in middle distance handicaps at York, and Incendo was always up against it from so far back, fully 12 lengths behind the leader Just Lille at the end of the back straight.

Hayley Turner did make an effort of sorts on the James Fanshawe-trained gelding early in the home straight, but she was never able to move out from close to the inside rail and she had her run blocked twice when she wanted to go forward. In the end, she was easy on Incendo when it was obvious that he couldn’t win.

This wasn’t necessarily a run that was brimming with promise, it was just a run that you can ignore for future reference. Incendo showed hugely improved form on what was looking like a largely disappointing season last term when he was fitted with a tongue tie for the first time at Yarmouth in September, and when he finished second in a handicap. He stepped up on that by beating the useful Itlaaq (a non-runner in Wednesday’s race) by a cosy head over a mile and a half at Kempton, and kicked off this term with a promising run to finish third over the same course and distance, all with the tongue tie. He is effective on turf as well as on Polytrack, and he could be well handicapped now on a mark of 79. The handicapper may even drop him a couple of pounds for this performance, and he remains interesting.

12th May 2010

© The Irish Field, 15th May 2010