Novakai

Novakai did well to keep on as well as she did to finish second in the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster on Thursday.  Fast away and prominent from early, up there with the fast pace, she came under a ride on the run to the two-furlong marker, but she responded well to pressure.  She ceded the lead temporarily to Frankness, but ultimately she lasted in front for much longer than the two fillies who cut out the early running with her.  There was a lot to like about the willing attitude that she displayed, and she only gave best to Polly Pott deep inside the final furlong, with the front two finishing well clear of their rivals.

The winner Polly Pott and the third-placed Perfect Prophet, both big outsiders, both raced in rear early on.  The two fillies who shared the early pace with Novakai, Ferrari Queen and Frankess, both well-fancied fillies. faded to finish seventh and fifth respectively.  Novakai did well to finish a clear second, given that she raced up with the fast pace from early.  Fifth in the Sweet Solera Stakes on her previous run, this was probably a career-best from Karl Burke’s filly, on just her third run.  She could improve again from this.  Out of a Nathaniel mare who won over a mile and six furlongs, she saw out this mile well, and she could get further in time.  In the shorter term, she could be an interesting outsider in the Fillies’ Mile.
Doncaster, 8th September 2022