Remote

Remote could hardly have been more impressive in winning the Class 2 three-year-old one-mile handicap at Doncaster on Saturday, he looks to be a horse who is on a steep upward curve.

Tracking the leaders towards the centre of the course, he pulled out passing half way, joined the front rank three furlongs out and eased to the front soon after. He quickened up really impressively from there and bounded right away from a good field, with the form horses chasing him home, and the second and third a little way ahead of the rest. Also, the time was really good, a second faster than standard and 0.92 seconds better than Racing Post par.

This race tends to be a good race and a good pointer to the future. Although Remote was racing of a relatively lowly mark of 89, and was getting 9lb from the runner-up Baltic Knight (including the jockey’s claim), there is no telling how good he could be. Martin Dwyer said that he was the best horse he had sat on for a while, and Dwyer rode Derby winner Sir Percy and Oaks winner Casual Look, so he has ridden his share of good ones.

Remote is impeccably bred, by Dansili from a top family that John Gosden knows really well. Gosden trained the dam, Zenda, who won the French 1000 Guineas, and her two siblings Oasis Dream, champion sprinter and now top-class sire, and Hopeful Light, who was a dual listed winner as a three-year-old.

Prince Khalid Abdullah’s colt was apparently very green last season, which is why he didn’t make it to the track, and he needed his debut at Pontefract. He has progressed really quickly since then, however, it looked like a strong maiden that he won at Newbury over a mile and a quarter, and he showed lots of pace on this drop in trip to a mile. He is really exciting now, and will be interesting when he steps up in class. He has gone up 14lb for this to a mark of 103, but that may still under-rated his ability. He could be Group class.

1st June 2013