The Cheka

The Cheka put in an eye-catching performance to finish third in the Bet365 mile on his reappearance at Sandown last week. Held up by Kieren Fallon, The Cheka sat in about sixth on the rail and moved closer as they came up the straight. He got a bit outpaced here, when Pressing went to the front, but then stayed on really well inside the last two furlongs to nail third on the line.

This was a highly promising run from Eve Johnson Houghton’s colt. He has clearly had his problems, this was only his fourth ever run but he showed here again that he has plenty of ability. Having been outpaced up the straight, he came back and stayed on really well under only slight urgings from Fallon. The front two, Paco Boy and Pressing, are Group 1 performers and the time of the race was good. The Cheka is sure to come on for this if he can stay sound, and he is open to significant improvement given he has had so little racing. Fallon reported afterwards that he would be better suited by a straight mile, so he could be a live outsider for the Lockinge Stakes, but he has plenty of options. Second in the Group 3 Solario Stakes as a juvenile, he won a decent conditions event on soft ground at Newbury last year and he may prefer it a bit softer than it was here. It would not be a surprise if he was tried over further, given the way he stayed on. He is interesting.

24th April 2010