Mullionmileanhour

Mullionmileanhour ran a cracker to just go down by a short head to Equiano in the Listed Abernant Stakes, run over six furlongs at Newmarket on Thursday. Slowly enough away and eased back by Steve Drowne so that he could settle in behind the front rank, John Best's colt had to be scrubbed up fairly vigourously passing the three-furlong pole in order to keep up with the fast pace that Equiano was setting from the front. Pulled to the far side, he did begin to pick up running down into the Dip, and he finished best of all up out of it, actually joining Equiano five strides from the line and looking the most likely winner when they flashed past, but it was Equiano's head that was down on the line, and Barry Hills's horse took the prize.

This was still a huge performance from Mullionmileanhour. The John Best-trained colt showed signs of inexperience through the early part of the race, but there was a lot to like about the manner in which he quickened running into the Dip, and the way that he maintained his effort up the hill and all the way to the line to just fail, with the front pair putting daylight between themselves and the rest of the field, who were headed by the useful Doncaster Rover. This was just Mullionmileanhour's fourth ever run. Third in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot as a juvenile in 2008, he was off the track for almost two years before he came back to finish third in a listed race at Lingfield in February. This was his first run since then and he shaped as if he will come on for it. He is in the Duke of York Stakes at York next month, and he is also in the Golden Jubilee. Neither entry is unrealistic at this stage. He could develop into a high class sprinter this term.

15th April 2010

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