Royal Silk

Royal Silk took a nice step forward to win a decent fillies’ handicap run over a mile at Goodwood on Friday.

A little keen through the early stages of the race after being hampered a little, and settled well back in the field through the early stages of the race by Richard Hughes, she travelled well up the early part of the home straight, but she came under pressure fully two and a half furlongs out. Her progress was gradual rather than immediate, and it looked as if Volunteer Point, who had travelled well before taking up the running a furlong and a half out, was holding her. However, Roger Charlton’s filly dug deep through the final half-furlong and, as the two of them scrapped it out, with the race between them, she forged forward to get up and win by a head.

This was just the latest step forward from the Royal Applause filly. After two moderate runs last autumn as a juvenile, she sprang a 33/1 shock in a six-furlong maiden at Kempton in November.

This was her first run since, her seasonal debut, but, out of a mare who won over a mile, there was always a chance that she would improve for stepping up to this trip, and so it proved. It was also significant that Richard Hughes rode her in preference to two Richard Hannon horses in the race, and she was quietly supported, from morning prices of around 8/1 to an SP of 6/1.

The handicapper has raised Royal Silk just 3lb to a mark of 80, and that looks lenient. This was just her fourth ever run, her second on turf and her seasonal debut, so she still has lots of scope for progression off her new mark. She handles this easy ground well, and we know that she goes well on Polytrack, so that leaves her with lots of options. Also, the fact that she saw out this one-mile trip well, that she put up the best performance of her career over the trip, means that some of the decent one-mile handicaps can now be on her radar. The fact that she handled Goodwood well make a return her for Glorious Goodwood a real option.

22nd May 2015