Grand Rock

Grand Rock ran well for a long way in the opening three-year-olds’ handicap on Thursday. Cieren Fallon quickly had him over from his wide draw and in front. He travelled well in front and, when he kicked in the home straight, it looked like he was the most likely winner, trading, as he did, at 1.25 in-running. He got run down inside the final furlong, he actually only finished fifth in the end, but he ran better than that.

William Haggas’ horse won twice on heavy ground last year as a juvenile, so it wasn’t surprising that he handled the soft ground here as well as he did. He hadn’t been beyond a mile before though, and it is probable that stamina just caught him out. Dropped back to a mile and ridden aggressively like this again, ideally on soft ground, he will be of interest again.

Ascot, 18^th June 2020