The Listed 3yo mile was a tight and tense finish between four runners and had a dual protest as well before the final result was declared. Raghu set the pace and despite laying out the run home held on to win by a lip to record 1:34.53. The time was the second best on the day with a 3yo filly Valley Girl impressively winning the final event in 1:34.44 against the older horses. Raghu and the runner up It’s Ben Again then had to endure a protest from the third finisher Tavago. The runner up beaten a nose was It’s Ben Again that sat outside the winning leader and could not get past him in a ding donger. He did run out and hamper the fourth finisher No More Tears, which protested specifically against him, and she in turn caused the third finisher to be hampered as a result. The messy looking incident at the 150m also saw the rider of It’s Ben Again drop the whip just to add more incident to the race. Tavago was closing better than anything on the line and was beaten a nose and a head so surprisingly did not get promoted to second considering the tight margins. He got back on the inner then worked off turning for home and got to clear air wider the run in only to be hampered at the 150m. No More Tears after trailing fought hard and got hampered by the runner up at the 150m so to be beaten a nose, a head and a neck was admirable. Neither protest was upheld surprisingly considering the margins were so tight and anything off-putting inside the final 200m had to matter for 3yo’s striving to get black type. The gap back to fifth was substantial and saw Thunder Down Under running on as usual while Brighton hit the line over the closing stages. De Chine for a maiden boxed on for seventh and should win a race next time out in her proper grade. The big flop was the favourite Scrutinize that never ran on from the midfield and lacked his usual finishing power. Selfie was another disappointment and beat home just one runner so something is not right for this once stout closer. The maidens Mistrahma and Pacquiao were not disgraced after sitting wide the whole way and like their stablemate De Chine, should win against their own grade next time out. The on pace finish saw three of the first four come from the leader, outside the leader and trailing so it makes Tavago the best effort coming from eighth. He was also very stiff not to get promoted to second and perhaps specifically protesting against the runner up is where the true issue of the race and final result lay. Tavago and an in form Scrutinize are the two with the most potential and in particular the former. Looks to be a reasonable form source for the future but some 3yo winners on the day like Koenigsegg One (very impressive big strider) and Valley Girl (beat the older horses in faster time than this Listed race) have more scope.