William Hill Dahlia Stakes |
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| Fillies' Group 2, Newmarket 14:25 £125,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 1f, Class 1  |
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1 Stay Alert 5/1
2
Running Lion 6/4F
3 Caernarfon 7/1
6 ran NR: Novus Distances: 3½l, 5½l, 3l
Time: 1m 50.23s (slow by 1.03s)
Running Lion forgot to STAY ALERT ⚠️!
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) May 5, 2024
From an unlikely position the Hughie Morrison trained mare flies home for David Egan in the Group 2 @WillHillRacing Dahlia Stakes 😮 pic.twitter.com/G0WBD5iaiS
Stay Alert put in a strong performance and secured a decisive victory.
The race featured a six-strong field that split into two groups. Jockey David Egan, riding Hughie Morrison’s five-year-old mare, patiently waited as Heartache Tonight led the way on one side of the track.
Meanwhile, Running Lion, aiming for a repeat win on this card, made her move alongside Heartache Tonight and surged to the front with half a mile remaining.
Jockey Oisin Murphy pushed hard to maintain Running Lion’s lead, but as they entered the final quarter mile, the 6-4 favorite’s energy waned.
Seizing the opportunity, Stay Alert surged forward, overtook Running Lion, and galloped to victory by three and a half lengths.
Morrison said: “We looked after her as a young horse and tried not to run her on fast ground as she’s quite heavy topped, but she’s always had a serious engine.
“The family has always stayed so we imagined she’d get a mile and a half, but I’d probably say a mile and a quarter is her perfect trip now.
“She was going to be retired, but Ben and Sir Martin (Arbib, owners) decided at the last minute they’d have another go. I actually said they ought to retire her because she’s such a beautiful broodmare prospect. I’m very sorry they aren’t here, but I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.
“David said he was always going to pick up the other filly (Running Lion), he just didn’t want to go for it in the dip. I said to him ‘if you’re in contention hitting the rising ground, you’ll win’.
“I suppose the obvious race to run in is the Pretty Polly (Curragh), in which we were a very unlucky second last year, but she does want decent ground.
“We’ll probably aim pretty high now, we’ll probably look at entering her in the Eclipse and races like that because if it’s soft in Ireland you probably want to go for the Eclipse.
“On her day she’s a very good horse and you’ve got to look at everything. I’m a great believed five-year-olds have an advantage over four-year-olds as they must improve.”
Dahlia Stakes (Fillies' Group 2)
£125,000 guaranteed, 1m 1f, 4yo+, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (4) Stay Alert 5 9-2 Hughie Morrison David Egan 5/1
2 (2) 3½ Running Lion 4 9-2 John & Thady Gosden Oisin Murphy 6/4F
3 (3) 5½ Caernarfon 4 9-2 Jack Channon David Probert 7/1
4 (1) 3 Heartache Tonight 4 9-2 David Menuisier Jamie Spencer 20/1
5 (5) ½ Astral Beau 5 9-2 Pam Sly Shane Kelly 15/2
6 (6) 22 Silver Lady 4 9-5 Charlie Appleby William Buick 16/5
NR 5 (7) Novus 4 9-2 Gary & Josh Moore NON RUNNER
