Duntle

Noted here last month after she helped set too fast a pace in the Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown, Duntle confirmed her considerable promise by landing the Sandringham Handicap on Wednesday, and she still has the potential for much better still.

She was held up this time and she travelled really well, possibly a fraction too keen early on, but she came there on the near side really strongly inside at the three-furlong pole. She was hampered by the weakening Switcher continually edging to her left on the run to the two-furlong pole, but Duntle picked up nicely to hit the front well over a furlong from home and stayed on strongly to hold off Arsaadi, appearing to win with plenty more in hand than the winning margin suggests.

The time was very good, almost half a second faster than that clocked by Joviality in the Group 1 Windsor Forest Stakes earlier on the day also over the straight mile, carrying 4lb less, in which she was pushed all the way to the line by Chachamaidee, and 0.34secs faster than that recorded by Prince Of Johanne in the Hunt Cup.

This was a big effort by David Wachman’s filly, she can improve again on this, this was just her fourth ever run, she was accepting of the more patient tactics, and she should be able to progress even further when she relaxes even more in behind horses. She could be very good indeed, and the merit of this run may not be fully appreciated when she steps back up in grade given that it was in the Sandringham Handicap and not one of the more prestigious races at the meeting.

20th June 2012

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