Lewis Stakes – Grade III [KYD]
1 1/16 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $150.000 Open 3 Year Olds.

1st Mission To Tugela, trained by Allinthegate
Got into the stalk from his wide gate but had to work pretty hard to get there. With six
furlongs being the furthest he had ever been you may have expected him to fade after halfway
but far from that he kept piling it on and eventually ground out a quarter length win.
Coming from a wide gate in a field this size is no mean feat but he coped very well with it
and may well turn out to be a very live KYD contender. The path he has taken to this race
may be a bit bemusing to some but at only 15.1h his trainer clearly felt he needed time and
managed his career pretty well. My only worry about his size is his ability to cope with the
gruelling KYD qualification process but he is on his way now and it would be great to see a pony
winning the big race in May.

2nd Hollywood Ballet, trained by Alydar Stables
Showed improvement on his seasonal debut lasting much longer on the front end and very nearly
pulling off an all the way win. This was  step up on previous stakes efforts and he looks to
have shaken off that monkey and could still be a force in the qualifying races for the KYD.

3rd Spring Lover, trained by Mb Stables
Stalked the leader and did enough to beat that rival off in a driving finish but could not
hold off the eventual winner in the drive to the line. This was only his sixth start though
and he seems to be learning all the time so i would imagine we will see him have another go
in a KYD qualifying race.

4th Air Show, trained by Our Athletes
Put in a spirited finish to be a closing fourth beaten under a length. This was a good enough effort
after a fourth in the Smarty Jones last time and he certainly deserves another shot at the KYD field.

5th Padre Time
Ran a great race in his first attempt at graded level to be a hard closing fifth only beaten a length.
A much better effort than his odds suggested and he wouldnt have to improve much to be a contender at this
level.

6th Folk Fire
Taken back from his tough draw he ran on well to be sixth but the value of this performance will only
really be known in his next run.

7th The Rook
Another taken to the back and with a lot of runners winning from closer to the speed in the last few
days he never really stood a chance. Running on nicely he made up some ground so there may be hope
if he is given another go at this level.

8th Twisted Diademe
Pretty dissapointing in the end he was close enough in transit but was weak at the finish. He may
have needed the run so only time will tell if he can better this run.

9th Raj Fifa Star
Ran on from the back but never really got into it.

10th Sportsman
Took his shot but may be better suited to overnights

11th Th Watcher
Trailed from the wide draw and couldnt get on terms.

12th Widows Son
a very dissapointing effort

SUMMARY

The speed has been holding up over the past few days so it was no surprise to see all the closers beaten
today. Having said that it was a typical HRP finish with just about everyone thinking they have another shot.
The winner did great from a wide draw and for one so small in stature he was very brave.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES