Promise Is A Perfect 2 From 2
Sometimes a name can just fit the situation perfectly. True Promise looks to aptly named at currently as he maintained a perfect start to his racing career. Carrying a penalty, the 3yo Gelding took his second win in as many starts, winning the 7f BetMGM: It’s showtime Restricted Novice Stakes at Newcastle.
Having waited all of 2023, the Matthews family saw their patience pay off when True Promise made a winning debut. Racing over 6f he showed a great attitude to rally late on and secure a dead-heat on his first start. Battling inexperience, True Promise really found his stride late on. With this in mind, a step up to 7f seems the logical step and that was the option taken.
Lining up against 9 rivals, True Promise was the only winner in the race which meant that he would have to shoulder a penalty for his success. Realistically there only looked like two dangers, with the rest of the field at 25/1 or bigger. Despite his win, True Promise was actually third choice of the trio, probably owing to the extra weight being carried.
Nicely away, True Promise was straight into his stride and prominent from the get go. Shane Gray was in the saddle and allowed his mount to stride on. As they raced through the first couple of furlongs, the leader moved over to take the field closer to the stands side rail. True Promise raced in third position and was in a nice rhythm.
The pace had been fair throughout and the field raced past halfway well bunched together. With the leader continuing to push the action, it was the trio of market leaders who were lining up behind, travelling well. As they headed into the final 2f, the fanned runners came to the force and looked to have the leader in their sights. True Promise was travelling best of all with Shane waiting to throw down his challenge. As they passed the leader, the three main protagonists came to the fore with nothing separating them.
Although he had come through looking the strongest, True Promise just got a little outpaced initially. Shane didn’t panic and looked full of confidence as he cajoled his mount along. Baring down on the final furlong, it was the fav who cracked first as True Promise looked to overturn his 1/2 length deficit. Despite sitting in second, it was Shane who was more comfortable and had done a lot less in the saddle than his counterpart. Now inside the final furlong, and drawing alongside his rival, Shane asked for everything and he received it from True Promise. Finding more the further they went, he began to assert and galloped away to take a 1/2 length win.
True Promise showed a great attitude throughout this contest and the step up in trip certainly suited the gelding. Having shown the benefit of experience, jumping well and travelling nicely through the contest, he then knuckled down when challenged. Again it took a little time to really throw down his challenge but once he hit top gear, True Promise galloped out well and won nicely. The performance was nice but it is certainly upgraded when you think of the weight he was conceding to the second horse. He has made a perfect start and taken to his racing very well. There is still plenty of time for improvement and it will be interesting now to see what opening mark he receives. Obviously True Promise has done his racing on the AW and there will be more options to come, but he should continue his upward curve on the turf when the new season rolls around.