Ashram

Ashram may be an unusual inclusion, given that he trailed in a well beaten second-last behind Premio Loco in the Group 3 Criterion Stakes at Newmarket last Saturday, but he could be interesting next time out and he may be worth following. The Saeed Bin Suroor-trained gelding raced freely in the early stages and showed plenty of speed to track the leader Red Jazz after two furlongs. He travelled well to the two-furlong pole before fading and his rider, Ted Durcan, just let him come home in his own time once his chance had gone.

It is a slight cause of concern that Ashram fell out of contention, but he was allowed to stride on from an early stage and he probably just ran himself out of it on his first run after a lay-off. He was expected to come on for this and he should fare a lot better next time with this run behind him. The son of Indian Haven is still potentially high class, he was only beaten two lengths in the Dewhurst as a two-year-old and he performed consistently well last season, he was third to Ouqba in the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot before finishing a decent second to The Cheka on his next start at Newbury, on ground which was probably too soft for him. He finished the year well, earning his highest Racing Post Rating when making all to win impressively in the listed Dubai Duty Free Cup at Newbury. He was gelded over the summer and it sometimes takes horses a while to get back to their best form after such an operation, he could be under-rated later in the season, and he is worth a second look wherever he appears next.

26th June 2010