Penny Drops

Penny Drops ran a big race to go down by just a head to Wee Jean in a good seven-furlong three-year-olds' handicap at Goodwood on Saturday.

William Haggas' filly was keener than ideal through the early stages of the race, which wasn't wholly surprising for a filly who was stepping up from six furlongs to seven. The pace was not slow, she was the only horse who wanted to go faster, and she was still straining the reins when they levelled up for home with just three and a half furlongs left to run.  Moved out around Lady Frances two and a half furlongs out, she picked up nicely when Liam Jones asked her to.  She quickly joined the leader Willy Brennan, and looked set to withstand the finish that Beau Nash was conjuring on the outside, which she did.  However, she just could not withstand the late lunge on the far rail of Wee Jean, who had been under pressure from a long way out, going down by a head, with the same distance back to Beau Nash in third place and the three of them clear.

This was probably a really good race.  It was run at a solid pace, the winning time was good, almost bang on Racing Post par and by far the fastest time of the day, and there was a nice break between the first three home and the rest of the field.  Actually, all three horses are probably worth keeping in your notebook for now.  Wee Jean finished really strongly and was weak in the market beforehand, so she could improve again, while Beau Nash made his challenge furthest from the far rail on a day on which there appeared to be a significant advantage to be gained from racing close to the far side.

Of the trio, however, Penny Drops is probably the one with more potential to progress.  This was just her sixth ever run, and it was her first attempt at seven furlongs, having run her previous five races over six.  She had been sent off at odds-on for her previous three runs, and she had only won once.  However, she had been steadily progressive, she was impressive in winning that race at Lingfield in early May on her previous run, and she was beaten by a similarly progressive filly in Perfect Blessings on her penultimate run before Saturday.

The handicapper has raised her 3lb to a mark of 90, but that is not harsh, and she still has the potential to progress well beyond that mark.  She will be of interest over an easy seven furlongs in which a strong pace looks likely, but she could be even better back down at six furlongs.

24th May 2014

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