Sense Of Purpose

Sense Of Purpose put up a career-best to finish second to Karasiyra in the Listed Lenabane Stakes, the featured mile-and-a-half contest at Roscommon on Monday evening. Never too far off a strong pace that was set by the John Oxx-trained winner, she did race wide throughout and she came under pressure fully three furlongs out, but she was still able to mount a strong challenge on the outside inside the final furlong. The fact that she wasn't able to get past Karasiyra says more about the winner's resolution than it does about the runner-up, Karasiyra was brave in the extreme, but Sense Of Purpose galloped all the way to the line, coming as close to winning as you can without doing so, and she lost no caste in going down by the minimum margin, staying on strongly all the way to the line.

This was Sense Of Purpose's first attempt at a mile and a half, and it looks like she improved for the step up in trip. Only just beaten in a listed race at The Curragh last September, she stayed on well to win her maiden over a mile at Navan in October, and she didn't do too badly in finishing sixth behind subsequent Pretty Polly third Akdarena in a 10-furlong listed race back at Navan in April on her debut this season. However, this represented a significant step up on that form. It is hardly surprising that stamina appears to be her forte, given that she is by Galileo out of a Darshaan mare, from the family of Grey Swallow, she is lightly raced and she is nicely progressive now. This was the longest trip over which she had ever competed, and the fastest ground on which she had ever raced, and it was a career-best. She should go on from this now, and she is interesting.

It is significant that Dermot Weld thought enough of her to give her an entry in the Irish Oaks, and she would be an interesting outsider if she took her chance in the race next Sunday. Looking further ahead, she could be one for the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster's St Leger meeting, a Group 2 race for fillies over a mile and six furlongs in which three-year-olds tend to do well.

5th July 2010

© The Irish Field, 10th July 2010

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