Alpine Stroll

Alpine Stroll did well to keep on as well as he did to take second place in the one-mile-six-furlong handicap that concluded proceedings at Sandown on Saturday. Usually a prominent racer or a front-runner, he wasn’t helped by the fact that he was taken on for the lead early on by Sea Appeal, and Oisín Murphy ended up ceding the lead and settling his horse in second place behind the leader. The pace was strong from flagfall though, it was a race in which the hold-up horses came to the fore. Alpine Stroll travelled well into the home straight and hit the front at the two-furlong marker. He just gave best to the lightly-raced Alnilam 150 yards out, but he kept on gallantly even after he was passed, finishing four lengths clear of the third horse in the end.

Time may prove that Ed de Giles horse faced an unenviable task, trying to concede 4lb to an unexposed rival who had the run of the race, and he can be marked up at least a little on the bare form of the run. A 2lb hike is fine, it takes him up to a mark of 76, still 4lb lower than his peak, and he will be of interest again now off that mark, ideally in a race in which it looks like he might not face too much competition for the early lead. He is versatile in terms of trip, it appears that he is equally effective over all distances from a mile and a half to two miles, and his record at Nottingham reads 211342.
Sandown, 17^th June 2023