Albany Stakes (Group 3)

THE winners’ enclosure has been robbed of some emotional scenes this week, with wins for Battaash and Stradivarius in the traditional Group 1 races sure to have provoked a huge response had the crowds been allowed. That is also the case with Group 3 Albany Stakes winner Dandalla (Karl Burke/Ben Curtis) who was representing the hugely enthusiastic Nick Bradley Racing Syndicate, in partnership with trainer’s wife Elaine Burke.

Given the scenes when Raising Sand has successfully carried the syndicate colours there in the past, it’s safe to say the celebrations would have been a highlight of the day.

As it was, the daughter of Dandy Man returned to muted applause despite destroying her rivals in the six-furlong Group 3 by six lengths from race favourite Setarhe (Roger Varian/Andrea Atzeni) and Mother Earth (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore).

The winner, who has scored impressively at Newcastle on her racecourse bow, was returned at 13/2, fourth favourite in a field of 13 which was reduced by the refusal of Ventura Vision to enter the stalls.

Seek cover

Ben Curtis was drawn high, but aware that his filly took off with him when seeing daylight on her debut, he was keen to seek cover and get her relaxed in the middle of the field, and that ploy worked perfectly, with those who were up with a strong early gallop generally fading out of things.

On the other hand, Dandalla again picked up impressively when asked by her rider, and the others were soon struggling in her wake. Neither Setarhe nor Mother Earth ever posed a win threat, and both were staying on past tiring rivals to make the frame, with a neck separating the pair at the line.

Although the winner elected to come to the middle early on, there was still an apparent bias towards the stands’ side, with Setarhe racing closest to the stands in the closing stages, and fancied fillies from the four lowest stalls all finishing out of the first five, including Wesley Ward’s Flying Aletha, who made much of the early running, but faded to 10th.

Turn of foot

Comparisons with his star filly Laurens are inevitable, but Karl Burke feels Dandalla is a different sort, as he explained when asked that leading question: “My daughter Lucy came in one day a good few months ago now and said, ‘I hate to say it, but this filly really reminds me of Laurens’.

Laurens had a high cruising speed, but this filly has a great turn of foot and how far she stays now is going to be the key. We knew we’d been underrated a little bit coming here today. It’s obviously very difficult to evaluate the form when horses are coming here after only one run, but she’s always shown plenty of toe.”

On future plans, he added: “It was always the plan to run at Newcastle and then here.

“I’ll have to sit down with Nick and get the programme book out. Races like the Prix Morny wouldn’t be out of the question – we’ll certainly be looking at Group 1 races anyway.”