Bwana had finished second to Beach Belle (who I rate group class) in the first Irish two-year-old race of the season and followed up with a big performance of his own here. He had the advantage of making the running at a comfortable pace on the rail for the first couple of furlongs but then picked up well to run the last three furlongs 2.1 seconds faster than they managed in the listed race for older horses over six furlongs.

Bwana kept running strongly to repel clearly smart rivals in second and third as the trio quickly ran away from the rest through the last furlong.

Bwana is bred to be better over six furlongs than five, so the testing ground probably helped him by making the race more of a stamina test. I’m not sure he’d be able to reverse form with Beach Belle if he takes her on again over five furlongs on faster ground in the Marble Hill Stakes.

Logically the thing to do would be to run him next in the Fishery Lane race at Naas over six furlongs in mid-May. That race would set him up for the Coventry Stakes.

Sustained challenge

Useful as the winner is, I suspect that runner up Sors (29-pace adjusted 37) will prove even better. He’s a really well put together, mature, muscular, close-coupled sort who mounted a sustained challenge.

He kept tabs on the winner all the way but seemed to get caught a little flat-footed when Bwana stepped up the gallop around halfway. He stayed on in most determined fashion and only lost by a neck.

I don’t see any strong reason to believe that Sors needs the heavy ground this race was run on. His pedigree and stride pattern don’t point this way. I see him as a serious prospect for the Norfolk Stakes and would bet on him to beat Beach Belle in the Marble Hill.

Third-placed Ellenvelyn (28-pace adjusted 36) ran a big race. She was caught out wide of the other runners for most of the race, isolated in the centre of the course. This can’t have helped a debutante like her. She kept on really strongly though to go with the first two as they rapidly quickened away from the rest of the field.

Ellenvelyn will surely be earning blacktype sooner rather than later.