Sir Gnet (following) got off the mark at Lingfield yesterday
Sir Gnet delivered La Grange Stables a fourth victory of the year with a stylish success in the mile and a quarter handicap at Lingfield yesterday afternoon, registering his first career victory in the process.
A son of Galileo who has always displayed some talent, he has proven somewhat difficult to win with, though there is no suggestion that this likeable individual has anything other than a good attitude. His mark had dropped to a workable 62 prior to yesterday’s contest, and jockey Daniel Muscutt has been building a relationship with the horse both on the racecourse and in homework.
On their previous outing together, over the same course and distance exactly two weeks earlier, a wide draw had probably been the difference between his fifth place finish and hitting the frame. What that run told us was that Sir Gnet was in the form to strike, though it was disappointing to see him draw gate 10 again yesterday.
This wide berth forced our hands once more, and patient tactics were the order of the day. Dan got Sir Gnet nicely settled early on, though coming down the hill on the approach to the home straight, they had just one of their 10 rivals behind. Turning in, and Sir Gnet cottoned onto the tail of market rival Creative Talent, and began to make strides. His prospects still looked forlorn for much of the straight, but inside the final furlong he really engaged top gear and rattled past his rivals inside the final half-furlong to win a shade cosily. It was a super cool and well-judged ride from the man on board.
This was a richly deserved win for both the horse and his owner Mr Quentin Zheng, who has had to exercise a lot of patience. Now that Sir Gnet has got his head in front, it is hoped that he can build on this success and won’t be long in finding his way back into the winner’s enclosure. A huge well done to all the staff back at the yard – this was a great boost ahead of the turf season which gets underway at the weekend.