Novellen Lad

Novellen Lad ran a cracker to finish fourth in a highly competitive premier handicap at The Curragh on Irish Derby Day last Sunday. All day it was a huge advantage to those who raced against the stands rail, and that continued into this race, with Invincible Ash winning the race from stall one and Brushed Aside finishing second from stall three. Novellen Lad showed a lot of pace to chase Lough Mist out in the centre of the track, and kept on well despite coming under pressure two furlongs out to finish a highly creditable fourth, building on the promise he showed when winning well on his seasonal debut.

The Eric Alston-trained gelding hovered around a mark of 85 last season after he won two races in succession in the early part of the year. He seems to have come back a better horse this year, his win at Haydock on his first start this year was impressive, he came with a strong run and was good value for the three-length winning margin. He can be marked up a fair bit on this run, those who raced on the far side had little chance all day, so he did well to keep on so well having raced up with the pace for most of the way. He could be significantly underrated next time as a result of this run, and because he is trained by a relatively small trainer. He would be interesting in another big sprint handicap, but he would not want any ground softer than good.

27th June, 2010