Nahrain

Nahrain was well touted all day on Saturday for the Listed Coral Distaff over a mile at Sandown, going off as short as 4/6 on just her third run, her first step out of handicap company, having easily defied a mark of 87 on her previous run, and she was nicely impressive in beating a useful, albeit small, field.

She settled well in fourth, better than the half-sister to Dubawi, Dubai Queen, a place ahead, but made her ground on the wide outside, which wasn’t where you wanted to be at this meeting. Dubai Queen took it up passing the two-furlong pole, and Nahrain briefly looked in trouble, but she quickly made up her ground on the outside to lay down her challenge and hit the front, going on to win fairly comfortably with Neil Callan only having to give her a couple of smacks behind the saddle once she’d hit the front.

This was a nice performance from Roger Varian’s filly. She quickly put the race to bed having looked like she might have a fight on her hands two and a half furlongs out. She is by Selkirk, whose progeny often go well with some give in the ground, and Nahrain’s action, as well as her trainer, both suggest she should be even better with cut in the ground. She is a big, powerful three-year-old filly so it is no surprise that she didn’t make the racecourse as a juvenile. She is quickly making up for lost time though, she is progressing really well at a mile, and has scope for even further progress at a mile and a quarter given her size and pedigree. Her dam, Bahr, won the Musidora and Ribblesdale Stakes, as well as finishing second in the Oaks, so a mile should really be the minimum for this filly. Having said that, the Sandown mile is fairly stiff, but she didn’t seem to be needing the step up in trip which is encouraging, she has a lot of class. She can continue to progress with racing and time, and she could be very useful indeed.

2nd July 2011