Commander Grigio

Commander Grigio only finished seventh of eight behind Beckford in the Railway Stakes, but he shaped as if he was better than that. He travelled well just behind the leaders, but he had to switch left to deliver his challenge, left of True Blue Moon, who drifted to his left just as Commander Grigio challenged, with the result that he had to go further to his left than ideal. In so doing, he lost ground and momentum, before recovering his equilibrium and running all the way to the line. He wouldn't have won without the incident, but he would have been a fair bit closer than he was. He could have finished fourth.

Second to Beckford on his racecourse debut at The Curragh in May, Fozzy Stack's horse was impressive in winning his maiden back at The Curragh on Guineas weekend. Fifth in that race was Gustav Klimt, who won the maiden at The Curragh on Sunday and is now favourite for next year's 2000 Guineas. Commander Grigio's run on Saturday was a step up from his maiden win, but he should be able to do better still with this experience under his belt and with a better run through the race. Also, by Holy Roman Emperor, his pedigree suggests that he is well worth a try over seven furlongs or a mile, and that is backed up by his performance on Saturday, he ran all the way through the line. He is progressive and he might be a little under-rated next time.

1^st July 2017

Back