Shine So Bright the Standout in Park Stakes

After running in the Guineas in May, Shine So Bright was not seen again until he reappeared at York during the Ebor Festival. There was little wrong with his effort in the Guineas, but his performance on reappearance at York was a step above, and if he can replicate that again here, he is going to be incredibly difficult to beat in the Park Stakes at Doncaster.

The three year old trained by Andrew Balding got the better of the talented Laurens at York, in what was a thrilling finish between them both. That race was over seven furlongs, which is the same as this race, and it is a distance that is often referred to as a specialist one. We often get milers taking on six furlong horses in these kinds of races, but based on what we have seen in all of his three starts this season, Shine So Bright could be a specialist seven furlong horse.

There are a couple of dangers amongst the five horses that are taking Shine So Bright on, but he does look a class above his rivals if he repeats his last run. Sir Dancealot has made a career out of being a specialist seven furlong horse and he has to be respected in the race. However, he has additional weight to carry being an older horse, and that is likely to tell here and make all the difference. He was behind Shine So Bright at York last time out, and there is nothing to suggest he will be able to turn around the form here at Doncaster.

The other horse who could pose a threat is Turjomaan, who could well still be on the improve. He moved out of novice company for the first time when he ran his last race, and finished second in a Group Three. This is another step up, so more is needed from him but as a lightly raced horse there could be more to come from him, which would bring him into the equation.

However, despite those two in the field, I really like the look of Shine So Bright at Doncaster. All he has to do here is repeat his run from York and he should have no trouble landing another Group Two contest. That was his first run for over three months, so there is even a chance that he could improve for that and go even better here, should that happen then this really will be a comfortable success for Shine So Bright.

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