Distant Shore drifted out to a more than backable price, but was beaten by the game frontrunner.
Ray Dawson opted for the late run on Distant Shore, and I didn't mind it. She came there with every chance of winning, but when she came upsides the horse who led from start to finish, the winner pulled away.
The winner did get an easy time of things on the front, and that was probably the deciding factor. Impressive by the winner.
Concorde Landed 5/4 (1pt) – Naas 6.30
She is becoming extremely short in the market on the back of just one run, but Concorde Landed looked mightily impressive on her debut, and looked like she could easily be a Class 1 horse.
She was well-supported on her debut over today's course and distance, and she did not disappoint. She won by 5L, beating some horses with nice pedigrees, and out of some respected yards.
Even though it's hard to weigh up how good that performance was, in terms of what she has beaten, I think the eye test will tell you that she is an above-average sprinting filly at this time of year. Paddy Twomey is very good with horses like this, and would not be rushing her if she wasn't up to the task.
She comes up against some English runners from the Harry Eustace and Karl Burke stables. Shimmering Sun was seventh at Royal Ascot, and is the one to beat on that alone, but I thought Concorde Landed oozed class at this venue at the start of the month. Tropical Crown from the Burke stable won on debut, but didn't look anywhere near as impressive.
Soul Love 15/8 (1pt) – Naas 7.00
Despite being quite a short price in a big field Class 1 race, I think she is the most likely winner on the basis of her most recent piece of form.
She is the horse with the least amount of runs in the field, but she has shown that she is progressing nicely. She landed a Listed race at the back end of last season, and has since run well in a Group 3 at York.
The quality of horses in the Group 3 is much better than the horses she runs against today, and based on that, the odds available are quite generous. I was tempted to give another try to Tahcawin, who was tipped up last time out at the Curragh, as she runs this track well, but I've decided against it.
GambleAware