Canary Row

There were a couple of obvious hard-luck stories in the Irish Cambridgeshire at The Curragh on Sunday, including Vastonea and Burn The Boats, both of whom were squeezed out of it inside the final furlong. However, the bigger and perhaps less obvious picture is that it was a race that was run at a fast pace, which suited the horses who were held up, as both Vastonea and Burn The Boats were. By contrast, Canary Row was ridden handily from early, and he did really well to keep on as well as he did to finish fifth, beaten just a total of two lengths and just run out of fourth place inside the final 25 yards.

Fast away from his inside draw in stall five, Declan McDonogh quickly had Patrick Prendergast's gelding into a nice even rhythm in the front rank. Getting a nice tow from the front-running No Dominion into the home straight, he moved towards the near side to deliver his challenge, still travelling well, at the three-furlong pole. Asked for his effort two furlongs out, he picked up nicely, went about a neck up and appeared to be getting the better of Andy Oliver's horse. In the end, both horses were run down by the closers, but Canary Row did win his private duel with No Dominion by a neck to take fifth place.

It was a fine run from the Holy Roman Emperor colt. Actually, he had put up a similar performance on his debut this season on soft ground in the Irish Lincoln over Sunday's course and distance, when he tracked a fast pace and kept on really well to finish third. He ran well behind Sun On The Run at Tipperary in April, and he seemed to improve for the fitting of blinkers when he finished fourth behind That's Plenty in another good handicap run over a mile at The Curragh on Guineas weekend in May. Sunday's run was his first run since, his first in over three months. With the blinkers retained, it was probably his best run yet on good ground. He is beginning to look a little exposed, and it is a worry that he hasn't won since he was a juvenile, but he will be of interest again now back on his favoured soft ground and with blinkers fitted again. He should do best ridden handily over a mile on easy ground in a race in which the early pace might not be so fast.

31st August 2014

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