Surge goes well for Powell
Dragon's horses take both trials on Tuesday morning
It was two from two for trainer Leticia Dragon at the trials on Tuesday morning.
Lord Of Cloud took the first trial and Surge followed it up with an authoritative win in the second of just two hit-outs.
Of the two, Surge garnered the most interest.
Ridden by John Powell, who is working towards a return to racing after a medical scare, Surge jumped from an outside gate. But he quickly dominated proceedings.
Taking the lead on settling, he went at a steady clip with Najah (formerly Cai Poh Wang), Smooth Operator and Sacred Don in hot pursuit.
Powell, having ridden the gelding in both his wins, would have known he had a good horse beneath him and he was not perturbed with the challenges.
Into the stretch and, with the finish line beckoning, the veteran jockey clicked his mount into another gear.
Surge was ready for a good stretch. Taking the bit, he lengthened strides. Marc Lerner, on Smooth Operator, could do nothing but watch him go.
Yes, Surge truly lived up to his name - surging to the line like a good horse.
With Powell sitting rock still in the saddle, his mount went on to win by 41/2 lengths.
The best Smooth Operator could do was to nose out Sacred Don for second spot.
Although not worked upon over the final 100m, Surge still clocked a smart time of 60.01sec.
Dragon has a good one in her barn.
By proven sire, Exceed And Excel, Surge has done all that his trainer has asked of him.
Sparingly raced, he has had just four starts pre-Covid-19 and two more since lockdown was lifted in July.
In fairness, he has yet to find the form which saw him score twice - in January and February. But he is getting there.
As for Lord Of Cloud, he had to work hard for his win.
With Joyful Aspiration refusing to jump out at the get-go and trailing the field thereafter, Lord Of Cloud was a tad slow off the mark.
Approaching the 600m mark, he had only the wayward Joyful Aspiration behind him. But, up in the saddle, Benny Woodworth began to work on him.
Into the home straight, Woodworth peeled Lord Of Cloud to the outside.
With Alfares (Louis-Philippe Beuzelin) and Strong N Best (S John) trading blows upfront, Lord Of Cloud charted a path.
With just 100m to travel, Woodworth got his mount to raise another gallop and Lord Of Cloud closed in to win by half a length. He clocked 61.56sec for the 1,000m on the Polytrack.
Alfares was a good second. Never asked to do anything more than necessary, he came home with what looked like a ton in the tank.
With a second and a third to show from just three outings, Alfares, who is trained by Michael Clements, should be winning a race sooner rather than later.
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