Matthew Flinders

There was a lot to like about the performance that Matthew Flinders put up in winning the one-mile handicap. Ed Walker’s horse settled nicely for Tom Marquand early on, towards the far side, sixth or seventh of the 12 runners. He made nice progress to move in behind the leaders at the three-furlong marker, and he picked up well to join the front rank on the run to the furlong pole. From there, he was always in command. Magical Morning finished well on the near side, but it always looked like Matthew Flinders was holding him, and he kept on well to win by just over a length.

The handicapper raised the Siyouni colt by 5lb for this win to a mark of 97, but he appeared to win with more in hand than the bare winning margin, and there is every reason to believe that he can step forward again. Unraced as a juvenile, he has progressed with racing this season. He won a novice stakes over 10 furlongs at Doncaster at the end of June and, on his last run before Saturday, he finished a close up third (demoted to fourth) in a good one-mile handicap at Sandown (from which the runner-up Raaeq came out and won last Friday, over the same course and distance off a 2lb higher mark), when he was a little keener than ideal and a little wider than ideal. A half-brother to Pacharana, who won seven times over 10 and 12 furlongs, out of a half-sister to St Nicholas Abbey, a well-run mile obviously suits him well, but he also gets 10 furlongs, and he will be of interest wherever he goes next.

Doncaster, 12^th September 2020