American Style Braves It Out
Moving from 2 to 3 years old is a big step in a horse’s career. They all mature at different rates and you can see a big improvement, as they become more like the finished article. American Style had a very productive juvenile campaign but connections always felt he would be better at 3yo. He got his season off to the perfect start as he won at Ripon, taking the 6f Ripon Silver Bowl Handicap.
The son of Washington DC improved with every run last season but in the early days he just kept bumping into one. Either side of his win, at Beverley, he ran very well in two big events. So it did feel like he was a little hard done by just having the one win next to his name. That being said, his mark of 78 looked fair moving forward if he filled out over the winter.
American Style certainly came back looking a more furnished model and came to hand early on. Unfortunately the program doesn’t really offer too many opportunities for a horse like him so when the race at Ripon came up, it as the obvious choice. Only one of the 9 runners declared had been seen this season, but that had resulted in a win. The race was a little bit of unknown as Tom got the leg up on American Style.
Last season American Style got quicker with every run and he continued that trend here, breaking well and moving straight to the lead. Tracking over from stall 3, American Style grabbed the rail as they charged downhill. Looking to make all, American Style set a strong gallop with his rivals tucking in behind along the stands side rail.
Very little would get into the contest as tom dictated out in front. As they moved towards the final 2f, Tom began to work away on his mount, attempting to kick from the front. Their rivals matched this move but couldn’t match American Style’s pace increase. Only the favourite managed to quicken up as he came from midfield to give chase.
Entering the final furlong the lead had been cut and American Style had a battle on his hands with the favourite. It did look as though American Style may be found wanting, as race fitness was against him. The chestnut had a different idea and knuckled down. He found a second wind as the leading pair went eyeball to eyeball, pulling away from the rest. American Style was not surrendering any ground and pulled out enough to get his head in front to secure a second win of his career.
Winning on his return to action, American Style has made the perfect start to the season and also put his name in the hat for the bigger 3yo handicaps. He had to brave it out here, especially taking on a rival who had a race under their belt. His current mark looked fair and this will certainly go up now but that shouldn’t be an issue with improvement likely. There are some nice prizes for the 3yo sprinters and these races could well be the target now for American Style.