3 minute read
Stay Alert returned to winning ways in Sunday's Group 2 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket.
Oisin Murphy kicked last year's impressive Pretty Polly Stakes winner Running Lion into a clear advantage entering the dip and it looked for a moment as though she'd slipped the field. However, a cool, calm, collected David Egan never panicked and produced his mare with a well-timed winning run.
The runner-up wandered left-handed under pressure in the closing stages and once passed, she never looked like getting back on terms with Hughie Morrison's Stay Alert, who would go on to land the Group 2 nine-furlong prize by three and a half lengths.
There was a further five and a half lengths back to the Jack Channon-trained Caernarfon (7/1) in third.
"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," said winning trainer Hughie Morrison.
"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'.
The five-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock was an unlucky runner-up in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh last season and Morrison suggested that could be her big-season target, should the ground remain decent.
He said: "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."