Herculean

It was only a four-horse race that Herculean won at Ffos Las on Friday, a Class 3 12-furlong handicap, but there was still a lot to like about the manner in which he did it. William Haggas’s horse missed the break by a fraction, but they didn’t go that fast early on so he was able to make the ground up and tag onto the back of his rivals. He travelled well on the near side all the way up the home straight, always looked to be going easiest, and found plenty when Shane Kelly went for him to go on and win by three lengths.

The son of Sakhee won with a lot more in hand than the three-length winning margin, it looked as if Kelly was reluctant to send him on too early, he had the luxury of holding onto him when he ranged up alongside the leader Relentless Dancer, and when the jockey picked him up, he ran away from that runner with ease.

This was a decent Class 3 handicap despite its paucity of numbers, Restless Angel had won her previous race, Denton had won his previous two and Jutland had won two of his previous four. This was just Herculean’s third ever race. He won a Class 5 maiden at Southwell on his previous start, and he took this significant step up in grade in his stride. He should go on from this now. A half-brother to a number of Group winners including the 1998 Group 1 Juddmonte Stakes winner One So Wonderful, he handled this easy ground well, and he will be of interest if he races again this season. Looking further ahead, he is an exciting middle-distance prospect for next year.

27th August 2010