Candarliya

Candarliya put up a really nice performance to win the listed 12-furlong three-year-old fillies’ race at Longchamp on Bastille Day last Tuesday.

Settled in third place by Christophe Soumillon behind Five Fifteen and Al Reem through the early stages of the race, the Aga Khan’s filly travelled nicely down the false straight . She was caught just a little flat-footed when the pace quickened as they straightened up for home but, taken towards the outside by Soumillon passing the 400-metre mark, she moved up to join the front two fairly readily before coming away. She did idle a little once in front, she hung a little to her left, but she stretched her neck out willingly, she wanted to go forward. She always had the race in safe keeping, and she had three parts of a length in hand over runner-up Al Naamah at the line.

This was a nice performance from the Alain de Royer-Dupre-trained filly. The winning time was good – just 0.07secs/ slower than standard, only marginally slower than the time that Erupt clocked in winning the Grand Prix de Paris over the same course and distance an hour and a half later – given that the early pace was not that strong. Also, she appeared to win with more in hand than the bare winning margin over Al Naamah, who was thought good enough to represent Andre Fabre and Al Shaqab Racing in the Epsom Oaks. More importantly, it was another step forward by Candarliya.

Beaten in both her races as a juvenile, she was also beaten on her debut this season, but those races were run over eight, nine and 11 furlongs respectively. Her last three runs have been over a mile and a half and a mile and six furlongs, and she has won all three. She is unbeaten over a mile and a half or further.

By Dalakhani out of an Aga Khan mare who was placed over a mile and a half, Candarliya raced here like a mile and a half is a minimum for her. She should do even better over a more strongly-run mile and a half, and she could improve again for a step up to a mile and six. It is interesting that her trainer took the trouble to enter her in the Yorkshire Oaks, and she will be of interest if she takes her chance in that. She would also be of interest if she went over to Britain for the Park Hill Stakes over a mile and six. She has now won her last three, and she still has lots of scope for further progression.

14^th July 2015