Karawaan

Karawaan was impressive in winning the Irish Lincoln. Nicely away from his inside draw in stall three, Colin Keane quickly had him settled into a nice racing rhythm, in mid-division along the inside. He moved up well on the far side early in the home straight, and he was travelling well enough, and he was willing enough, to go through a narrow enough gap between the leader Warnaq and the challenger Trading Point on the run to the furlong marker. He hit the front at that point, and he stretched out nicely all the way to the line.

This was an impressive performance by the Sea The Stars gelding on his first run for Ger Lyons. He was a well-regarded horse when he raced for Sir Michael Stoute and Sheikh Hamdan as a three- and four-year-old, but he only won once and he never quite fulfilled his potential. This was much more like it, his new trainer has obviously found the key to him. It was probably a career-best performance, and he handled the easy ground well.

The handicapper raised him by 10lb to a mark of 93, which is not an insignificant hike, but there is every reason to expect that he will be able to cope with a hike of that magnitude. He is five, but he has raced just nine times in his career, so he still has the potential to go forward again. He should get further than a mile too, he won his maiden over 10 furlongs, and he could make the step up into listed or group races now.

Naas, 24^th March 2019