Samuel Morse

Samuel Morse looked a like a really nice recruit to Aidan O’Brien’s juvenile team when he won the Marble Hill Stakes over five furlongs at The Curragh last weekend. The Danehill Dancer colt tracked the leaders in the early stages as a blistering pace was set by the front three. With no gaps appearing, he looked in big trouble two furlongs from home. A small gap did develop inside the two furlong marker, which he went through willingly, but he still had a lot to do as Purple Glow had gone into a clear lead on the outside. Samuel Morse showed a really good attitude when in the clear, and showed a nice turn of foot to get up on the near side of the Jim Bolger horse and win by a neck.

This was an impressive performance from Samuel Morse. He looked an unlikely winner two furlongs from home and there was a lot to like about the courage and speed that he showed to win and maintain his unbeaten record. He is almost certainly better than the bare form of this performance. He and Purple Glow pulled three lengths clear of their field in a race that was chock full of winners, and they clocked a good time, dipping below a minute. On his only previous start, Samuel Morse won a five-furlong maiden at The Curragh on heavy ground, a race that has already been boosted by the third, Radharcnafarraige, who came out and won a maiden at Navan on his only subsequent run to date. Next stop for Samuel Morse is apparently the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, and there is every chance that the six furlongs there will suit him even better. His dam, Eliza, won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ over eight and a half furlongs in 1992, and he is a half-brother to Country Song, who won over seven and a half furlongs as a juvenile and finished second in the Chesham Stakes over seven furlongs, and he certainly wasn’t stopping at the end of this five-furlong trip. He looks like an honest and versatile sort with a turn of foot and a bright future.

22nd May 2010