Biographer

Biographer ran a cracker to go down narrowly to Caucus in the Listed Coral Marathon over two miles on Eclipse day at Sandown on Saturday on ground that was probably a fair bit faster than ideal for him.

A strong second-favourite behind the winner, Biographer was dropped out last by Ted Durcan and ridden very patiently. He loomed up on the outside three furlongs out, looking by far the most likely winner, but Caucus quickened up between horses towards the far side and got to the front at that point, and Biographer just couldn’t get past between then and the line. The pair of them pulled a long way clear of the Queen Alexandra Stakes winner Chiberta King, who invariably runs well at Sandown, and Biographer kept trying all the way to the line, but he just couldn’t get past John Gosden's horse, who handles fast ground well. That may have made the difference.

Biographer shows plenty of knee action, and he should be better back on easier ground. He had actually been taken out of the Ascot Gold Cup on the day of the race because of the fast ground, so conditions at Sandown would have been far from ideal. This race was run in a very quick time, a course record time and nearly half a second quicker than the previous record. That tells you that this was a solid race run at a solid pace, and that the ground was lightning fast.

David Lanigan's horse proved that he stays two miles well here on his first attempt at the trip. He is still lightly-raced, and he could be a horse for the Doncaster Cup if the ground is a little easier in September. He could also be an Irish St Leger horse on easy ground. He comes from that excellent Hector Protector/Bosra Sham family, and he should continue to improve with racing. He is only four, this was just his eighth race, and he will be of interest whenever he races next on genuinely good or easy ground.

6th July 2013

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