Here at Sport Preview, we pay attention to detail, and we give as much focus to a maiden hurdle on a wet Wednesday at Clonmel as we do to a Group 1 at Ascot. With that in mind we will be publishing a weekly review of the weekends action to highlight some exceptional performances that you may not have seen. Here are this week’s horses that went “under the radar”.
RABBAH – 3YO Handicap – Marseille-Borely 17th March – Finished 1st
This was a first win to remember for RABBAH. A son of Literato, he had shown decent form in maiden races as a juvenile without ever really looking like winning, but the step into handicap company has brought out some significant improvement in him this year. Trained by Manon Scandella-Lacaille, he finished 2nd at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in a 10-furlong handicap on 20th February. The form of that race has worked out well, with the winner running well in a Listed contest on his next start, whilst the 3rd has won a handicap at Lyon La Soie. A mark of 29 looks very fair in hindsight and he duly obliged, travelling strongly in mid-division before coming with a winning run in the straight. He was delivered to perfection by Perrine Cheyer who is excellent value for her 1.5-kilo claim and a rise of 3-kilos for this win could have been worse given the ease with which he went away in the closing stages. He looks certain to follow up in the same grade and has run well on both starts this year to suggest he is a rapidly improving horse.
