Horses To Follow » Shamwari Lodge

Shamwari Lodge

Shamwari Lodge was an impressive winner of what was a fairly weak one-mile Group 3 race for fillies and mares at The Curragh last weekend. Richard Hannon’s filly broke well to get the lead from her favourable draw. Allowed to dictate her own pace, she was always travelling well and Richard Hughes never got in any way serious with her up the home straight, just pushing her out to win by an easy one and a half lengths.

Shamwari Lodge was a really likeable and reliable sort last year. She was highly progressive, she won twice and she was an unlucky loser on more than one occasion when she tried to come from off the pace. She looks to have carried her progression forward to this season and seems to have improved again now as a four-year-old. This was her third win from three runs this season, adding to the two listed events she won at Goodwood and Kempton. Her improvement may be down a change in tactics, she was held up in most of her races last year, but she has been ridden more prominently this season to date, and it looks like that has helped. She doesn’t need to be buried out the back in her races. The Windsor Forest at Royal Ascot is apparently next on her agenda. That will obviously be a much tougher assignment than this, but she always runs a solid race and she looks to be still progressing this year.

22nd May 2010