Not the ‘ideal start’ for Flora Of Bermuda

The signs from home were strong and Flora looked to be in great condition, but on the day our now three-year-old filly had other ideas and having reared in the stalls as the starter set the field off, the race was lost having given the rest of the field a 5-second headstart.

Kickstarting her three-year-old campaign with a run in the Gr.2 Temple Stakes - a fast 5f race that counts the 12-time stakes-winning sprint star Battaash, along with more recently the Gr.2 Queen Mary Stakes winner Dramatised as graduates - it was a promising debut indeed to see Flora run home as strong as she did. Coming from what looked to be a 20-length gap between herself and her competitors at the start, Flora showcased her smart turn-of-foot to close that gap to just a head from her counterpart.

Oisin Murphy, the deflated jockey after the race reported - “Flora Of Bermuda got very excited at the start of the race and sadly she gave away a lot of ground. To think she was upsides a horse going past the line and she wasn’t beaten by far, she’s still run a very big race. It wasn’t meant to be today, but she’ll be better next time.”

Simon Scupham of Bermuda Racing gave his post race analysis - “Flora gave herself no chance in the Temple yesterday. She got worked up at start, despite behaving impeccably until then, before rearing up in the stalls when the gate opened. This was disappointing as Flora has been working amazingly at home. On a positive note she made up an eye-catching amount of ground! She is an exceptionally talented filly with lots to look forward to.”

Onwards and upwards for our exciting filly. It’s a long season ahead and we are already looking forward to seeing our Flora hit the track again. Current plans for her next race will be the Listed Scurry Stakes (5f) at Sandown (15th June) and we will build her campaign from there.

Catch up on the race replay below: