Carmela

Carmela ran better in the Queen Mary Stakes on Wednesday than her finishing position suggests. Slowly away from stall 14, she was caught a little in the middle in no man’s land when the field split into two groups either side of her. Nudged along at the three-furlong marker, she was outpaced when they quickened, but she kept on well among horses to get up for eighth place behind the impressive winner Dramatised, beaten just a length for fifth.

It was a good effort by David Loughnane’s filly, given that she was drawn in the middle and that she missed the break in a race in which she just got outpaced at half way. She had won two of her previous three races, both of those over five furlongs on fast ground. She was prominent from early in both of those races, and her only other defeat was at York’s Dante meeting in May when, again, she missed the break. She could step up in trip to an easy six furlongs on this evidence, but she will be of interest wherever she goes next.
Ascot, 15^th June 2022