Santapietra makes her debut under rules
On Friday, February 16th, Santapietra made her debut under rules in the 5:02pm bumper at Kelso, finishing 7th of 12. It was a tough ask for her in testing conditions over a trip that was too short, but she showed what a tough and game mare she is and “shaped significantly better than the bare result.” (Dominic Finn, Racing Post)
Full write up below!
It was testing conditions at Kelso on Friday, with the ground heavier than the official going of 'soft’ would suggest. The course took a battering throughout the day, becoming more of a slog race after race. By the time of the bumper, it was brutal, and the ground had completely cut up under foot.
Nicky Richard’s pulled the favourite due to ground concerns a few hours before (and we don’t blame him!). This left the Sandy Thompson-trained Dedicated Hero as the 6/4 favourite at the off. The horse simply handled the ground the best and improved on his first bumper run at Carlisle to win by 2L.
Derek minded Santa very nicely, tucking her in at the back to give her cover and also something to chase. He mentioned that his previous rides that day showed that there wasn’t any nice ground to seek out, and with it being a bumper, you will always get one or two keen horses who set off at a pace they can’t maintain, especially on the testing ground. She was very green and didn’t take to the ground, finding it hard work pretty much from the start. Approximately 4 furlongs out, Santa was squeezed out of a pocket down the inside rail, being pushed out the back, losing momentum, and ending up a few lengths behind the field in 12th. Derek then switched her to the outside and was able to make up ground, passing five horses in the home straight and galloping on past the post. This confirmed our prior thoughts that we have a proper stamina horse on our hands and one that can go on to improve over hurdles and fences.
I have added a video below of Derek’s thoughts on the race, which are always interesting to hear!
Santapietra will now go straight over hurdles and up in trip in the hopes of more suitable conditions to show her true ability. I think Dominic Finn, an analyst for the Racing Post, described it well below, with the general theme being ‘there is plenty of improvement to come!’
Racing Post’s Analysis of Santa’s Performance
Santa has a brilliant attitude towards her racing, and her performance towards the back end of a testing race suggests we could have quite a smart stayer for the future who will only improve over jumps!
There are still shares available in Santapietra! You can get involved in the syndicate today by clicking the button below and filling out a ‘Shares Request Form’, and I will be in touch!
