Laganore
Laganore put up a really impressive performance to land the 10-furlong fillies' handicap at Navan on Sunday.
Weak enough in the pre-race market, she was dropped in last of the nine runners by Kieren Fallon through the early stages of the race. The pace was fast, Dragon Fei appeared to set a solid tempo, and Laganore settled nicely at the back. Last out of the back straight, Tony Martin's filly moved up field around the outside as they started to turn for home. She travelled well towards the near side as they passed the two-furlong pole as, one by one, her rivals started to come under pressure. She moved up easily to join the front rank as they raced to the furlong pole, went into a two-length lead by the time they reached the furlong pole and then, under just a hands-and-heels ride from Fallon, came clear up the hill to win as easily as she liked, eased down inside the final 75 yards.
There was an awful lot to like about this performance from Newtown Anner Stud's filly. She settled nicely, she raced easily behind the good pace, she travelled like the best filly in the race from a fair way out, and she picked up impressively when her rider asked her to. Also, she clocked a fast time, just 0.19secs/furlong slower than standard and the fastest comparative time on the round course on the day, despite the fact that she was heavily eased inside the final furlong, and that she left the impression that she could have gone significantly faster.
A winner on easy ground at the end of last season, and on heavy ground on her debut this term, she did win her maiden at Naas last July on good to firm ground, and she proved here that she is probably even better on fast ground than she is on easy ground. Also, she got this 10-furlong trip well, the longest trip over which she has ever raced, and that all opens up lots of options. The handicapper raised her 13lb to a mark of 105, but this performance deserved a fair hike, and she remains highly progressive. Tony Martin said after Sunday's race anyway that he would target black type races with her now, so her handicap rating may be largely irrelevant, at least for now. She holds an entry in the Group 3 Munster Oaks at Cork in mid-June, and she will be of interest wherever she goes next.
15th May 2016
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