Floral Man has not exactly worn a path to the winner's circle during his career but his first attempt at Class Five on Sunday suggested his next win is within sight.
Most of Sunday's race were moderately run affairs but the Class Five swung the other way, with the unusual sight of top jockeys Douglas Whyte (Oriental Fantasia) and Joao Moreira (Archer's Bow) cutting each other's throats, and their own, in the lead as they simply went too fast.
Their second section from the 1200m to the 800m in 21.75s was much faster than the Class Four that opened the day or even the Class One taken out by Kabayan, and even quicker than the final Class Three event which was competitively run.
With that pace in mind, there was real merit to Floral Man holding on for third as he was the nearest runner to the leaders for the tough part of the race. With just two wins from 29 starts, the six-year-old is no shoo-in at any time but over his preferred 1,400m course, he looks to have a Class Five in his sights shortly.
In the Class Two sprint, most eyes were on Teofilo Calva and Key Witness, and rightly so as they are horses of some promise, but away from their performances in first and third, eagle-eyed race watchers will have noticed a nice run from Tony Millard-trained Great Storm.
A winner in Germany up to 1500m, and even tried at longer trips without success, Great Storm's best looks to be at sprint courses and his fifth placing on Sunday was a pointer to a coming breakthrough after just five runs here.
Caught wide and working forward through the race, Great Storm, a 250-1 chance on the betting boards, could have quietly surrendered without losing much caste.
But Great Storm battled strongly and lost only a length on the front runners in the final 400m to be beaten just over four lengths.
He will be fitter for the race, is eligible for Class Three races and looks a significant improver if that's where he goes next time.
