Spa’s Dancer

Spa’s Dancer put in a nice performance to finish third in a one-mile handicap at Newmarket on Saturday. The John Hills-trained colt broke smartly and raced prominently on the stands rail in the early stages, with the field splitting into two groups, the majority racing close to the centre of the track. Spa’s Dancer did get outpaced by the front two, Business As Usual and Ransom Note, going inside the final furlong, but he stuck to his task gallantly and kept on well to retain third place, finishing five lengths clear of the rest of the field.

This was a nice performance from Spa’s Dancer on his handicap debut. He was the only one to get into the race from the stands-side group and he finished 10 lengths ahead of Dubai Set, who had been his nearest pursuer in that group in the early stages. The front pair look smart, Ransom Note has already won three races, while the winner ran really well on his seasonal debut behind Kaptain Kirkup at York. This was Spa’s Dancer’s fifth placing in a row and he should be able to win a similar race to this now. He didn’t seem to handle the track at Goodwood on his previous run, he hung badly to his left when he finished second to Harvest Dancer in a maiden there in May. Newmarket seemed to suit him much better and it is likely he will be kept to galloping tracks from now on. The handicapper has left him on a mark of 80, which is fair. He is by Danehill Dancer out of a Sadler’s Wells mare, he is a half-brother to a winner over 10 furlongs, so he could improve now for a step up in distance, a notion that is backed up by his racing style.

29th May 2010