A Class 2 maiden at Glorious Goodwood is hardly the place to bury a two-year-old on their third start if nurseries are the aim.
Operative – Tuesday, 16:55
Operative was entitled to take his chance last week: he’d been placed behind useful sorts at Salisbury on both previous starts, including Prix Robert Papin winner Gutaifan on the second occasion. He couldn’t make the required improvement at Goodwood, an awkward start and waywardness on the track making the task impossible. There was plenty in the way he finished, however, to take a positive view from the race- having been last inside the final two furlongs and struggling for room, Operative crossed the line in fourth and running on. Likely to escape a prohibitive mark as a result, he’s one to watch for nurseries.
Rhythmical – Friday, 17:30
Few would have missed the tail-end of Rhythmical’s thundering finish on Friday, when she passed the placed horses as though they were standing still and closed fast on easy winner Tashaar. It’s worth going back and seeing just how unlikely that result was two furlongs out. Last early on in a race that wasn’t strongly-run, Silvestre de Sousa took several goes to angle Rhythmical off the rail and didn’t manage it until just over a furlong out. Once in the clear, she flew, from six lengths off the head of the race to beat all bar Tashaar.
There’s certainly a lot to work on for Rhythmical, who made her debut little over a fortnight earlier at Leicester. She’s bred to be a lot better than a BHA mark of 76, as a Halling half-sister to Notarised, and is almost certainly up to it on last week’s evidence. Though she’ll be eligible for lesser races even after reassessment, connections needn’t aim low.
Jarir – Saturday, 16:20
Normally we’re looking for horses of immediate interest for this column, but in Jarir’s case we might need to ask for just a little more patience. That’s because it looks as though this expensive, well-bred colt could be chucked in once switched to nurseries, which he won’t be qualified for until after his next run.
So far Jarir has run at Newmarket and Goodwood, both times being beaten by significant margins. Neither looks to be a worthwhile measure of his ability, though, especially Goodwood where Frankie Dettori was keen to look after him once it was clear he wasn’t going to win. Given the dam’s side of his pedigree, we’d expect Jarir to go up to a mile at some point this year. The day he does might well be the day connections decide he’s learned enough and is ready to show his worth.
