Shimmering Moment

Shimmering Moment put in a really good effort when she finished second in a Class 3, 11-furlong handicap at Goodwood last Saturday. Tom Queally held her up just on the outside of runners at the rear of the field through the early stages. She travelled well but she was widest of all into the straight, and she had to do a lot of running down the outside to get there. She made up tremendous ground to get past the favourite Wadnaan, but was just done by the late lunge of Roxy Music who got a dream run up the rail having been under pressure earlier on.

Shimmering Moment had beaten Roxy Flyer on the previous occasion on which they met, in a 10-furlong handicap at Salisbury, Amanda Perret’s horse was 3lb better off here, but it’s difficult to say that it made the difference, both horses had to negotiate their way through this field, they finished clear of the third and it is likely they are both really progressive three-year-olds. For Henry Cecil’s filly, there was a lot to like about this run, it was her first run in 61 days, it may have been a lack of peak-fitness that found her out in the end, after she had done so well to get into a winning position, or it may have been the trip that saw her weaken inside the final 100 yards. This race was run over 11 furlongs, it may be that she will be better dropped back down to 10 furlongs.

Whatever the case may be, she looks well worth following from here, this was just her sixth ever start, she looks progressive and she should come on for this run. A return to 10 furlongs would make her interesting next time.

31st July 2010