Thursday, 29 July 2004: Soviet Song has an army of owners whose cheering could probably have been heard here after yesterday's Sussex Stakes win.
She made the most of every opportunity yesterday and delighted her connections with a tough win over Nayyir, who after she swept past him had another go to try and peg her back, but it was not to be, and he had to settle for a galant second. Le Vie dei Colori, a well-credentialed Italian runner, has now been sent to Luca Cumani who with his magic want got a top performance out of the horse to take the third spot.
Haafhd was a disapointment - he had to be reshod at the barrier and this seemed to upset him' plus the day was warm, and he appeared to have expended all his extra energy in this performance. During the race he slowed up and lost his stride, which caused interference to some other horses, including Refuse to Bend, who seemed to fade after that.
The Veuve Cliquot Vintage went to Mark Johnston's Shamardal, a Giant's Causeway offspring, from Wilko (7/1) and Fox at 10/1.
