Ballarat trainer Henry Dwyer and leading jockey Oisin Mullin were both of the opinion that soft ground played against star sprinter Asfoora in her Group 2 King George Stakes run at Goodwood on Saturday morning.
The mare finished seventh, not beaten far, in the 1000m feature won narrowly by Jm Jungle.
“I think she is going really well. We are happy with her. We are just not getting the circumstances at the moment.” Dwyer said.
“It’s a run in the bank for the Nunthrope. It just wasn’t the desired result today.
“She just didn’t appreciate the ground. The day is a success in the fact it takes us somewhere. We are two runs here, neither have been good scenarios for us but we’ve had to have them. Hopefully we have a bit of luck from here.”
“(She was) ready to win, travelled great. I was happy with how it unfolded. They got racing early. Before I said go they began to slow down.” Mullin said.
“It’s the ground. She can’t (even) parade freely in soft ground. The fact it is drying out gave her a chance but it’s just too soft. She plugged on to the line.”
Asfoora still has several Group 1 opportunities overseas this season, with the Nunthorpe Stakes at York on August 23 shaping as her likely next start.
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