Moss Gill

Moss Gill did well to get as close as he did in the six-furlong handicap from stall one. Settled in behind the leaders in the near-side group early on by Nicola Currie, he was last of that group passing the three-furlong marker. Moved towards the near side and asked for his effort on the run to the two-furlong pole, he pricked his ears and picked up well as they met the rising ground, and he finished off his race strongly. He had to do a lot of running on his own on the near side, and he came nicely clear of his rivals on that side, but he just couldn’t get to Pass The Vino, who was drawn 20 of 20 and raced up the rail on the far side.

It probably wasn’t an advantage to race up the near side in this race. The GoingStick readings suggested that the ground on the far side was marginally faster, and Moss Gill had nothing with which to race on the near side from over a furlong out.

His previous four runs had all been over five furlongs, but he saw out this six-furlong trip well, and he could step forward again now over this distance. James Bethell’s horse has now run six times this season, six times since being gelded, and he has won twice and finished second four times. He is versatile regarding surface and track configuration, he has won on soft ground and on good to firm ground, and he has run well on Tapeta, and he has won at Ripon and Doncaster, and he has run well at Newcastle and York. And in terms of distance. He has won twice over five furlongs, but he saw out this easy six well. The handicapper raised him by 4lb to a mark of 88, but he is a horse in whom there could still be a good handicap off that mark.

Newmarket, 11^th July 2019