Shagraan

Shagraan did well to keep on as well as he did to finish third in the three-year-olds’ six-furlong handicap at Newmarket on Saturday. Smartly away from his high draw, closest to the stands rail, he showed a lot of early speed and was able to race up with the early pace quite comfortably. Still in front and travelling well on the run to the two-furlong marker, he picked up well when Tom Marquand asked him to, and he kept on well when challenged, only giving best to James’s Delight and Two Tribes deep inside the final furlong. Those two rivals were ridden more patiently in a race that was run at a fast pace, as evidenced by Shagraan’s finishing speed percentage of 95.48%, and the first three finished nicely clear of their rivals.

It was another good run by Mick Appleby’s horse, a step up on his seasonal debut, when he was a little unlucky in-running in finishing second in a five-furlong handicap at Sandown behind Equity Law. The handicapper left him on his mark of 94 after this, and that was more than fair. There could be a good sprint handicap in him off that mark. He has lots of speed, a stiff five furlongs or an easy six seems to suit him well.

Newmarket, 4^th May 2024