Razorbill

Away from the more prestigious meetings over the weekend, Windsor staged a card with a couple of decent handicaps on Sunday, and Razorbill put up a noteworthy performance in finishing a close-up second in the Class 3 one-mile handicap, in a race that wasn’t run to suit.

He was drawn well off the rail in stall eight on a day on which no winner was drawn higher than four, and on which three of the six winners emerged from stall one. Also, the other three horses who filled the first four places in Razorbill’s race were drawn two, one and three respectively.

Charlie Hills’s colt had to race wider on the track than ideal, he moved up to challenge two furlongs out, looking a big threat, but he was just out-muscled by Asatir, a fellow handicap debutant, through the final furlong, though he was rallying again near the line and was in front soon after it and at the pull-up. The time was really good, faster than standard, which makes Razorbill’s effort on just his fourth ever run, his first in handicap company, even more commendable.

Razorbill’s dam won over a mile as a two-year-old and was placed in the Musidora Stakes over 10 furlongs at three, she is from a good Juddmonte family, being closely related to Reams Of Verse and several other high-class middle distance horses, so it is likely that there will be even more to come from Razorbill when he steps up to a mile and a quarter or further. He had shown a good level of form in his three maidens, improving with each run, finding only the promising and more experienced Nine Realms too good at Leicester before winning in good style at Nottingham (a race from which the third horse has won subsequently), and he should continue to progress with racing. The handicapper has left him on his mark of 85 for this run, which is generous, and he will be of interest wherever he goes next.

1st July 2012