Scurry Stakes Tips: Moore's Mount To Be Sandown Star

The blink and you'll miss it Scurry Stakes is the main attraction on the Saturday before Royal Ascot and Sandown will see a few rapid animals head to the track in the hope of winning this listed prize. Billy Grimshaw has taken a look through the race and provided us with a preview...

This looks a four horse race if the odds compilers are to be believed, with a quartet sub 4/1 and the rest over 16/1 at the time of writing. I would be seriously surprised to see anything outside of the top four come out victorious as well, with maybe only Marty Hopkirk having a squeak of the outsiders if this confirmed frontrunner is allowed to nick too much rope out in front, which is unlikely with Ryan Moore onboard a filly who also likes to get on with things and is about ten times shorter in the betting. As I pen this preview, there is a battle going on for favouritism between Hold A Dream and Moore's mount STAR OF MEHMAS, and it is the latter I am siding with.

Regular readers of my work, all five of them, will know I think Ryan Moore is worth his weight in gold and is the best rider I've ever seen, so it'll come as little surprise that the fact he's onboard Star Of Mehmas for the third time in succession has helped me make up my mind, however were the jockeys to be switched here I would still be backing Richard Hughes' rapid filly as I think she has more pace to burn than she's shown yet, and what she's already shown has been pretty good!

There was no real reason for despondency in the aftermath of her close second at York last time out, with Andrew Balding's Tropical Storm looking a fair tool in her own right and just seeing off Star Of Mehmas in a battle. Sandown is a more speed favouring track and I love her low draw, as we have seen on multiple occasions speed horses grab the rail at the track and not see another rival. Moore is the master of judging the pace wherever he sits in a race but is exceptional off the front end and to me she is the one they all have to beat.

Arguably the most interesting contender is Henry De Bromhead's - a name we'd be more accustomed to seeing send one over for the Tingle Creek than the Scurry Stakes - Town And Country, who has looked an above average filly with pace to burn so far over in Ireland. She has finished second the last twice, with her latest a cracking run in a listed race at Cork which has worked out well since. She is yet to drop back to the minimum like she will have to here, but travels like speed is not something she's short of so I can't see the distance being an issue, however I do think the two at the top of the market are a level above and will be just too quick for her.

Coto De Caze completes the quartet of market leaders and probably was the best two year old, closing out her season in style winning a Group 3 at Newmarket. There has been little update from the Crisford team as to why they've waited so long to deploy her this season but one suspects she may have had a slight injury or issue, but she performed with credit first time out last season and if cherry ripe here could well cause every other runner in the field some headaches. I do suspect though that this day is not her be all and end all and that fitness could be a key factor in deciding the outcome. 

Star Of Mehmas finished off last season with a hat trick of wins and I think this could be the springboard to a fruitful second half of the summer of Richard Hughes' pacy three year old, who the trainer has never tried to hide his admiration for. With Moore booked, favourable ground, a lovely draw and even a potential pace setter to aim at, everything is in her favour and she can snag the Scurry Stakes.