Scurry Stakes Tips: Bermuda Can Blossom At Sandown

In a strange quirk, the Scurry Stakes of 2024 will be contested by an all female field. There are eight fillies entered at the time of writing, a nervous number 24 hours out for each-way bettors, and Billy Grimshaw has studied the form of all eight before giving his idea of the winner...

Adaay In Devon has only ever won all female races, so it will have been music to favourite backers' ears to hear that there were only fillies entered in this open Listed race. Silvestre De Sousa is a good jockey booking and she obviously has a chance on the back of her Bath successes and her solid third behind Elite Status - many people's fancy for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot - last time out.

Nevertheless, in a field this deep I was surprised to see how short she was priced up at and can give her an easy swerve unless drifting markedly. Nighteyes was intriguing and clearly comes here in fine fettle, hunting a hat trick but stepping up markedly in class.

She laughed at her rivals at Haydock last time out off a mark of 85 and although she is undoubtedly better than that, unless she throws in a major career best you suspect a few of the more well touted fillies in here will have to fluff their lines for her to be fighting out the finish. A case could also be made for Graceful Thunder receiving weight from the favourite over a course and distance she has won over in the past, but she is here off a near 3 month break and I'm not sure she'll quite have the speed of some of the others.

One horse who certainly won't lack early pace is Dawn Charger, who was probably the last filly off my shortlist in here judging by the fact I think she could well grab the lead early and once she is let loose she is dangerous. Her best runs have come in small fields - indeed in all three wins there have been eight or less rivals to beat - and if she stays out of trouble she could be tough to catch for the rest of the field.

I could put no one off backing her truth be told, especially if she drifts further, but will plump for current second favourite FLORA OF BERMUDA over a distance she definitely likes and a course I'm fairly confident she'll enjoy too. We can put a line through her latest run in the Temple Stakes when she blew the start and cost herself any chance in the race, giving the rest of the field at least six lengths, and once she did catch up she did actually do quite well to finish in and around a few others all things considered.

Looking at her form from last season there was no sign of any trickiness so I'm willing to write that off as an aberration and assume she will break alertly with the rest of the field. Providing she does, she brings in the strongest form to this race and should be able to lay up with anything before exerting her class toward the end of the race. She can stalk the pace or be prominent and with Sandown suiting closers - even in sprint races - we have a grain of insurance if she does slightly miss the start once more. She's a relatively confident bet, for all I respect likely front runner Dawn Charger.