18th-Jun-2014

I am backing Muteela again here. We backed her when she won what looked like a very competitive three-year-old handicap at Newmarket on her most recent run, she progressed again to win that, she is now three for three, and she is worth backing again today.

She has made all the running for her last two wins and, such is her style of racing, especially hailing from the Mark Johnston yard, that it is difficult to know when her progression will stop. She could still be ahead of the handicapper.

She was impressive at Newmarket. Although it can often be an advantage to be prominent on the July Course, she didn’t have an easy lead. On the contrary, she bounded along in a three-length lead and everything else in behind her appeared to be going as fast as he or she wanted to go.

Her rivals started to close on her from three furlongs out, but she picked up again passing the two-furlong pole and put daylight between herself and her pursuers once more. The well-fancied Pretzel came out of the pack to challenge her on the far side, but Muteela kept on galloping, she was always holding him at bay, and there was a fairly sizeable gap back to the rest.

Given her weakness in the market just before that race (she was only third best of the three Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum horses in the market), and that that was just the third run of her life, she is perfectly entitled to progress again.

It will be tough to make all the running in a 25-runner handicap at Royal Ascot, or even to be prominent throughout, but it is not impossible, as the two winning two-year-olds showed yesterday, and her toughness and battling qualities will stand to her again today. Also, she looks like a real fast-ground filly (by Dansili out of a Zafonic mare), so the likely slightly faster ground than at Newmarket last time should suit her.

MUTEELA WON (ADV 8/1, SP 9/2)