The Notebook

Horses who performed well in defeat:

Richard Hughes has a useful prospect on his hands with Pouting, who finished second in a novice at Windsor on Monday. Her finishing effort was promising, and after being outpaced when the race started to heat up, she kept on well to finish second. The main disappointment from this performance was the lack of progress from her debut, over the same course. You would have been optimistic that she would have taken a strong step forward, but it was not the case. Nevertheless, there will be plenty of races to be won with her and a stronger emphasis on stamina will likely see her to better effect.

Amsterdam took a big step forward from his debut effort when finishing second at Salisbury this week. With a more prominent ride, Ed Walker’s runner-up may have ran down the eventual winner, and stable-mate Perennial, who dictated the pace under a good ride from Ross Coakley. Despite not winning, Amsterdam appeared to improve since his Kempton debut, where he looked slightly one-paced. On this latest occasion, he showed a decent turn of foot to pass rivals and confirmed the notion that there will be races to be won with him. He is in good hands to progress.

Stratusnine got ran down in the final strides on Tuesday by a smart prospect from the Clive Cox stable. Despite him not landing at short odds, he still ran well, confirming the promise he showed when he ran an exciting race at York on his penultimate start. When he hit the front in the final furlong, he did very little, and ultimately paid the price in the closing stages. Both performances he has produced achieved a racing post rating of 84, and if he progresses further, he could become a mid 90s horse. The winner, Arabian Sun looks useful so this form could work out well in time.

Finally, in listed action at Goodwood last week, there was a smart performance from King Of Conquest for Godolphin, who stamped his mark on the staying division. In second, I liked the run from Aimeric, who appears to have bumped into a group level horse. He travelled smoothly through the race and looked at one stage that he may go and win, but just couldn’t go with the eventual winner. He has some good form on his record, with a stylish win on his seasonal debut at Lingfield. He is an improving five-year-old and I am looking forward to see where he goes next.

Performance of the week:

Zilfee produced an exciting debut at Kempton on Wednesday, gamely repelling Andrew Balding’s Incensed in the closing stages. A half-sister to Enable, she has a fabulous pedigree and there was excitement ahead of this run. She did not have the best of beginnings, stumbling slightly out the gate, but she produced a fantastic, gutsy attitude to win her race. She is an exciting prospect for John and Thady Gosden.