Run For The Hills

Run For The Hills was one of the unlucky horses in a competitive six-furlong handicap at Epsom on Derby day. John Gosden’s colt broke slowly and had to race from a fair bit back, in the last trio. He was behind a wall of horses two furlongs out and his jockey, William Buick, seemed slightly indecisive about which route to go. He eventually opted for the outside, but he had to wait until the winner, Flipando, went past him to get out and get after the leaders. He finished as well as Flipando, if not better, once he got out and got going, but because he had to start his run from behind David Barron’s horse, he finished sixth instead of first, even though he was beaten just a length and a half.

This was another promising effort from Run For The Hills, on the back of his good third at Newmarket, which was a really good effort. He had to fight his way between horses out in the middle of the track that day, he broke free a furlong out as Noverre To Go and Himalya duelled on the near side, and he ran on well all the way to the line. He may have done better if he had raced on the near side, or if he had been able to track horses until later. And this was a similarly creditable effort, he did not seem to handle the camber up the straight but he still could have won had he got a clear run. Also, the time of the race was really good, faster than standard and over a second and a half quicker than the earlier juvenile listed race run over the same course and distance, although there was a significant tailwind on the day that probably helped the time a lot. While the tailwind helped the time, however, it probably did not help Run For The Hills, who is best seen over a stiff six furlongs.

The son of Oasis Dream seems to be running back into his best form, the handicapper raised him 2lb, back up to a mark of 100 for this, but that may still under-estimate his ability. He goes particularly well at Newmarket, but his is in the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot, which is interesting. He may be worth a try over seven furlongs now.

5th June 2010