Hurricane Lane Eclipsed As Grand Alliance Annexes John Porter

Susan Roy’s homebred 4-year-old gelding Grand Alliance (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}–Endless Love {Ire}, by Dubai Destination) was winless in six starts since registering early-season scores at Chelmsford and Donaster last year and, with dual Classic hero Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) failing to fire on seasonal return, stepped forward to notch as shock victory in Saturday’s G3 Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise S. at Newbury. Fourth in the Berkshire venue’s Oct. 22 G3 St Simon S. when last seen, the 18-1 outsider was patiently ridden from the outset and found a comfortable rhythm off the pace in fifth. Making eyecatching headway on the bridle in the straight, he launched his challenge passing the quarter-mile pole and surged clear, despite drifting towards the far-side rail, under a drive in the closing stages to secure a career high in game fashion. At the line, he was 2 1/4 lengths too good for Farhan (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who edged Max Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) by a neck for second.

 

The post Hurricane Lane Eclipsed As Grand Alliance Annexes John Porter appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.