Somehow

There was an awful lot to like about the performance that Somehow put up in winning the Group 3 Snow Fairy Stakes at The Curragh. She travelled really well, she moved up easily on the near side and she showed an explosive turn of foot to come clear of useful rivals Epsom Icon and Skiffle, winners of Group 3 and Listed races this season respectively. They did not go overly fast, so the overall time was not really impressive, but the finishing split of 33.75secs that Somehow clocked off that sedate pace for the final 3f was. According to Timeform, it was the fastest finishing sectional of the day by some way – the next fastest was 34.41secs, recorded by Intelligence Cross for the final 3f of his 6f race – despite the fact that five of the other six races were run over shorter distances.

This was much more like it from Somehow. Highly regarded at the start of the season, she was not impressive in winning the Cheshire Oaks, and she was well beaten in the Epsom Oaks and the Irish Oaks. However, on this evidence, despite the fact that she is out of dual Oaks winner Alexandrova, she may be much happier over this type of trip. This 9f is the second shortest distance over which she has ever raced, and it was a career-best by her, probably by some way. She will be of interest if she takes her chance in the Group 1 Matron Stakes now at Leopardstown, the track at which she won her maiden impressively in April and, by Fastnet Rock, she would not mind if the ground came up on the easy side for that contest.

28^th August 2016