Rizeena stamps authority in Equities National Stakes – Horseracing News
Rizeena stormed to a victory in the Cantor Fitzgerald Equities National Stakes (Listed Race) in England.
The track was slow to some extent, which did not make life easy for the challengers. Despite that, the two-year-old filly displayed excellent speed and finished on top of the table by three lengths. The overall distance to cover
was five furlongs, thus the start was highly important.
Due to this, Rizeena pushed hard right from the start of the event. She was aggressive throughout and came into lead pretty early. From there onwards, there was no danger for her, as no one else improved towards the final moments
of the race.
The winning trainer Clive Brittain praised his filly by saying, “She's been working with Miblish so we knew we had something special. That'll just sharpen her up a bit. She'll improve again for that. She'll want another race before
Ascot, where she'll be entered in the Queen Mary and Albany. It's Ascot one way or another.”
On the other hand, Steventon Star failed to meet the expectations of his fans in the race, as he ended up in fourth place overall. He started as the favourite and no one would have expected him to struggle, especially under a seasoned
rider like Richard Hughes.
Since making his debut in 2013, this was the first time when the two-year-old colt dropped out of the top-three. The ground conditions would have affected his performance to some extent but he has experienced such thing before
and should have made a better effort.
After the National Stakes ended, another important Listed Race, Heron Stakes, took place at the same venue.
However, there were no surprises in that event, as the favourite colt Montiridge stormed to the top by almost four lengths. He stayed out of trouble throughout the race and was not challenged by someone else.
His assistant trainer Richard Hannon junior said, “We've always thought he's a good horse and he showed it tonight. There's a lot of options for him, such as the Jersey Stakes [at Royal Ascot] or the Prix Jean Prat. He's very decent
- I don't think that's a secret.”
Montiridge has been going strongly since debuting in the sport and his owners will be hoping that he carries on the momentum throughout the year.
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