Alwaatn Sound Up And Running

Sometimes you just can’t get a clear run and one thing or another continues to keep a horse from taking up and entry. Limited to one run as a juvenile with a year in between runs, Alwaatn Sound has some catching up to do. Now he will go into handicaps with a win under his belt as he took the 5f Slater Menswear Novice Stakes at Hamilton.

The blue silks of owner Jaber Abdullah are famous within racing and have been synonymous with some class horses. Lady Of The Desert was a Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed carrying those colours. She has passed this ability on the her progeny with Queen Kindly following in her footsteps. When she had a colt by Shamardal he was sent to Hambleton Lodge and looked a nice colt to match his pedigree. 

Hamilton was the starting point for Alwaatn Sound and a very good third looked to be a promising start to build on going forward. Feeling as though Alwaatn Sound went a bit weak following his debut meant Kevin patiently waited until this year before returning the colt to the track. Stepping up in trip to 7f at Redcar, Alwaatn Sound showed up for a long way before struggling late on. There was plenty of promise shown but Kevin felt there may have been something just holding the colt back slightly. Immediately after Alwaatn Sound had a small wind op to help him reach his potential as well as being gelded. 

Recovered and fresh, Alwaatn Sound was declared for his third run at Hamilton, dropping down to sprinting once again over the minimum trip. Only 5 runners were set to line up and Alwaatn Sound looked to be the most obvious improver with just the two runs under his belt. Tom Eaves was booked to ride the favourite and was aiming to utilise a nice draw near the stands side rail. 

Cuban Affair, top rated, was drawn next to Alwaatn Sound and when the stalls opened he jumped to the right. This initially carried Tom with him and he had to just sit to avoid any incident, waiting for his rival to straighten back up. Once Alwaatn Sound could get into his stride he moved up to press the early leader. He quickly took over and held the advantage after the first furlong with the field charging downhill. Clear of Cuban Affair, Tom moved over towards the rail as he set a strong gallop. 

There was no hanging around and with over a length advantage Alwaatn Sound took them down past the halfway point. He travelled well as the other quartet began to work to play catch up with the leader. Simplicity was the order of the day and Tom was keen to get his mount rolling before hitting the uphill finish. Passing the 2f marker Tom began winding Alwaatn Sound up and the gelding lengthened. The order had not changed throughout and it was the second fav Ballyare who went with Alwaatn Sound. 

Only two horses could win the race from 1 1/2f from home as Alwaatn Sound and Ballyare pulled away from the rest. They were well spaced out as Alwaatn Sound raced towards the rail with daylight between the pair. Still with an advantage of 1 length, Tom asked his mount to go and finish his race and Alwaatn Sound hit top gear. The ground began to rise up for the final furlong and Ballyare started to drift closer to Alwaatn Sound. With the gap closing to 1/2 length, Alwaatn Sound could snow see his rival, the first time he had in a while. This helped him along again and with just 100 yards to run he still held 3/4 length lead. Tom needed to keep him up to his work but Alwaatn Sound was always holding his rival at bay and took the win by a neck.

It has been a patient approach so to see Alwaatn Sound get off the mark is very pleasing. Tom rode the gelding with confidence and it was the right approach. Not only was it the winning move but Alwaatn Sound would have learnt a lot from that run too. He showed a great attitude as he was in the firing line all the way and then found a bit more when his rival got close. Rated 64 with just the 3 runs, Alwaatn Sound is open to improvement and can make his presence felt going forward.