IT was good to see some progressive sprinters stamp their mark in the blacktype contests at Naas last Sunday, but the runner-up in the mile fillies’ maiden was particularly eye-catching, writes Page Fuller.

Shakazia does not look like the most straight-forward filly, but she took a big step forward from her debut last October, just getting run down near the line.

She looks very free-going and for that reason Ben Coen was keen to miss the break and give her every opportunity to settle at the back of the field. He was successful in doing that, so much so that compared to every other horse running at Naas that day, she was the fourth slowest out of the stalls, taking 3.37 seconds to reach 20mph.

Unfortunately for her they also went quite steadily in the early stages of the race, with most horses passing through the first four furlongs far slower than 12 seconds apiece.

This meant that it turned into a sprint so, as well as pulling quite hard in the early stages, she then had to quicken past horses that were also quickening up the home straight.

She was the fastest horse in the race, hitting a top speed of 41.79mph in the penultimate furlong, and that sharp turn of foot took her quickly from ninth position to third in the space of a furlong.

She was also 0.48 seconds quicker than the winner through that furlong, but unfortunately the effort required to get into that position left her vulnerable close to the line.

Her finishing speed percentage of 107.57% was also the highest on the day, highlighting how much she quickened at the end of the race. This demonstrates that she was possibly a little unlucky, and should be easily capable of landing a contest like this.

Hopefully next time the fractions will be stronger early in the race, helping her settle better and gallop a little stronger to the line too.