Terresita
Terresita stayed on nicely to take third place behind Victtorino in the three-mile premier handicap chase at Ascot on Saturday. Held up early on by Tom Cannon, she jumped well and she travelled well to the home turn. Still only seventh as they straightened up for home with just two fences to jump, she picked up well when moved towards the outside and asked for her effort. She moved into third on the run to the final fence, and she looked a big threat, but she got in a little tight to the last and, though she finished off her race well, she couldn't quite get there, going down by a total of three parts of a length in the end.
It was still a big run by Lucy Wadham's mare, coming from the rear in a race in which the pace held up well. The two horses who beat her raced prominently from flagfall, and there was a little break between the first three home and the rest of the field. This was Terresita's 10th chase, but she is in the form of her life. She put up a career-best performance when she won a handicap chase over two miles and five furlongs at Ascot last month, and this was probably another step forward from that. She got the near-three-mile trip well, she was fastest of all through the final four furlongs and, a winner over two miles and seven and a half furlongs over hurdles on soft ground, she is unexposed over this type of trip over fences. She obviously goes well at Ascot, her three best runs have been there, but they were her latest three runs too, her best four runs are her four runs this season, and it may be that she is just in peak form these days. A 2lb hike for this performance was not harsh, and she will be of interest wherever she goes now.
Ascot, 15th February 2025
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