East Tyrone Wins Narrowly

As the season progresses the start of nurseries sees more opportunities for the 2yo’s. With many having had their qualifying runs under their belts, the handicapper has released their marks and they can begin to run in handicap company. East Tyrone needed to get back on track and he did just that as he won the 6f John Smiths Nursery Handicap at York.

The son of Mehmas had made a striking debut when finishing runner up, showing signs of inexperience that day. It seemed as though a win was inevitable but unfortunately next time he couldn’t quite build on his debut, maybe with the race coming a little too soon after run 1. East Tyrone’s third run was very disappointing, travelling well he didn’t look to go through with his run and subsequently was gelded. Gelding East Tyrone meant that he would have the recovery time as a break before the nurseries began.

Starting on a mark of 67 seemed fair and when the nursery at York came up it looked an ideal option. It would be the first time racing over 6f and he would be lining up against 12 rivals, all unexposed like himself. Shane Gray got the leg up and would have to earn his riding fee. With rain softened ground the field would race towards the stands side rail. Then along by the favourite, East Tyrone settled into midfield but toward the far side of the group.

There was no hiding place for the 2yo’s as the favourite took them through the race. East Tyrone had raced in easy going previously and looked to handling the ground with no problem here. He would need to show he stayed the 6f but through the first half of the race he travelled nicely behind the pace. Just hitting a little flat spot around the 3f marker, Shane had to niggle for a few strides to maintain their position.

Moving into the final 1/4 mile the leader looked to kick from the front and got the rest chasing, having travelled supremely well. Around half of the field were out of the contest and East Tyrone was working hard to keep tabs on this around him. He made steady progress, not losing his position but not gaining either. It did look to be a real test for the 2yo’s and they would need to dig deep.

Still holding sway on the rail, the favourite was now starting to look in trouble passing the 1f marker. The race began to develop more towards the centre and East Tyrone was continuing to find for pressure, on the girths of the new leader. It looked as though East Tyrone would pick up and take the lead but he came up against a brave opponent. Every time Shen looked like he made the move to go by East Tyrone didn’t really knuckle down. The race looked there for the taking but East Tyrone would only just get there in the nick of time, securing the win in the dying strides on the nod.

Now he has got his head in front this might be the building blocks for East Tyrone to go on from. He saw the trip out well but it did look as though he is holding something back, which suggests there could be more to come from him. There are some big nurseries back on the Knavesmire so it would be great if East Tyrone can continue to improve and maybe head back there for the Ebor meeting.