Double, Second And A Lucky Escape At Salisbury

It was a successful day at Salisbury for the yard in general, although the highlight of the day was the fact that Sophie Killoran was ok after a horror fall when the saddle slipped on Dylan Centenary in the apprentice handicap. He was disputing the lead at the time and would not have been far away. With both horse and jockey ok, hopefully they can gain compensation soon.

At £58,000 Marcano is the most expensive horse the yard has bought and it looks like he could be one of our best as he won the maiden in convincing style on his second start. Having made a very promising debut in a hot contest at Newbury, a slight cough meant he missed his next intended start at Leicester and a tilt at Royal Ascot. However, it could be a blessing in disguise as it meant he was not rushed and could be stepped up to seven furlongs. The ground was plenty quick enough yesterday, but he was very professional, smartly into stride to make the running and then quickened away inside the final furlong to win by two and a quarter lengths. Targets for the future are fluid but the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket's July meeting, a race we finished runner-up with Roi De Vitesse in 2009, could be an option.

We still ended up winning the finale, as Eugenic finally fulfilled some of the promise shown at home by getting off the mark under Jordan Vaughan. We are still unsure of his trip, as he wandered about inside the final furlong but found more when joined by the runner-up. Off a mark of just 50, he is at the right end of the handicap to progress and we will try to run him without a penalty in the next twelve days.

Icebuster didn't really stay fourteen furlongs in the staying handicap, having every chance at the one pole before fading behind Sunny Future. It was still a solid effort but he needs more help from the handicapper as he doesn't seem quite as good as last season.