Side Glance

Side Glance looked interesting in finishing sixth in a competitive six-furlong handicap at Newmarket last Saturday. The Andrew Balding-trained gelding was a bit slow at the start, and eventually raced in rear of the group that raced down the centre of the track. The fast pace that developed helped him as he pulled hard in the early stages, but he just got a bit outpaced as they raced into the dip before picking up again inside the last furlong to run on strongly into sixth.

This was only Side Glance’s fourth ever run, he is still learning. He ran a similar race at Salisbury over seven furlongs on his previous run, his first run of the season, pulling hard before running on again behind Dafeef. He just got outpaced here when they quickened but he was staying on the best at the finish. While the faster pace over six furlongs helped him settle, his racing style suggests that he will be better over seven furlongs in time, once he learns to settle, he uses up a lot of energy early in his races, and that should come in time when he gains more experience. Despite that, he handled the fast pace and soft ground quite well. He will probably be more at home on better ground.

The son of Passing Glance won his maiden on his first ever start at Newmarket last year, and he has been lightly raced since, he is open to plenty of improvement and he should progress as the season goes on. He will be interesting off his current mark of 90 if seen back over seven furlongs. He is in a seven-furlong handicap at Sandown next Saturday, and he will be of interest if he lines up in that.

29th May 2010