River Spirit had another luckless run to come home in fifth - as usual, she ran well, but just lacked that rub of the green that makes the difference between winning and losing. Our time with All Dolled Up has finished, having never made it to the track. With River Spirit and Porthos Du Vallon going up for sale soon, that will reduce my UK flat runners down to zero in the next few weeks. I've decided my 2015 English campaign, and every year thereafter, will be handled solely by Lord Ilsley Racing, which has given me a lot of bang for the buck and a great deal of fun thanks to the camaraderie created by Mick Channon Jr.
Irish Harp was very disappointing with Masaki Katsuura, starting as third favourite but finishing ninth. In all fairness, she had ran a heavy schedule before, and the long break she was returning from probably did more damage to her race form than if she'd have continued at a cracking pace. We'll see what happens in her next outing. Later on, Kyosuke Maruta got a great result from Harmony Fair - fourth, and within inches of a third place finish, despite starting as 12th favourite. I've been calling for this lady to be retired for ages, but this is a really inspiring run for her new trainer. Having given her one last chance last time out, due to her fresh surroundings, it looks like she's finally starting to show some speed again. It's the best result she's had by far since winning almost two years ago...
In Australia, poor Raining Dollars faced some stiff competition, and while he kept up with the field nicely until 100 yards from the post, he quickly ran out of puff thereafter and finished at the tail-end of the pack. Pretty Gully couldn't get the line she wanted (she loves the outside straight) and finished fourth, but with real speed, so she still has what it takes, there's no doubting that.
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