Lady Clair

Lady Clair did well to finish as close as she did in fourth place in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York last Thursday.

Very keen through the early stages of the race, towards the rear but also towards the outside of the field, it wasn’t until Graham Gibbons got her back to the rear of the field after they had gone more than two furlongs, ninth of nine, and in behind horses that she dropped the bridle. You would have understood it if she had run her race then, and she came under pressure at the three-furlong pole. However, still last passing the furlong pole, she picked up impressively among horses from there, passing four fillies inside the final 200 yards despite having to be switched a little to her right, and she closed in on the third filly Easton Angel all the way to the line.

This looked like a really good renewal of the Lowther Stakes beforehand, and the form looks rock solid. The three fillies who dominated the market, Lumiere, Besharah and Easton Angel, dominated the race and the finish, and Lady Clair did best of the rest by far, getting to within a length of the third filly, despite the fact that she didn’t have the run of the race. Winner of a Catterick maiden on her racecourse debut in July, David Barron’s filly did well to win a nursery at Thirsk next time off a mark of 78 after getting a bump at the start of the race. This was her first defeat, but it was still a significant step forward on her previous two runs. She handles this season ground well, and she will be of interest in good juvenile fillies’ races as we move into the autumn.

20^th August 2015