Aspire To Glory just came up short in his quest for a third win of the year at Southwell, as he was just caught on the line to finish second by a head.

Aspire To Glory made the trip to Southwell on Sunday, one he knows all to well having run there twice this year already, to feature in the Class 6 Handicap (17:02) over seven furlongs.

He broke well and Kieran O'Neill, Coral Racing Ambassador and jockey on the day, took up a perfect position on the rail just tucked in behind the early pacesetters, Tilsworth Max and Rusheen Boy. Around halfway through the bend, O'Neill had to make the move to bring Aspire To Glory to the fore of the race, as it became clear the leading duo weren't going to remain there for much longer, having brought him as far as they could have.

WATCH: Kieran O'Neill debriefs Aspire To Glory's Owners for the Day following the pair's second place finish

With just over two furlongs to go, Aspire To Glory hit the front as several challengers looked to be making their effort in behind, but were unable to catch our four-year-old. This continued until King Sharja, who sat in the midfield for the majority of the race, burst through the pack to put our gelding to the test. Despite a fightback once headed, Aspire To Glory was ultimately unable to get back on terms with King Sharja, and finished just a head behind the winner in second place, and almost two lengths clear of the third place finisher, Al Suil Eile.

The morning after the race, we caught up with Alice Haynes who gave us an update on how Aspire To Glory came out of the race:

'Aspire To Glory is fine after yesterday's run at Southwell, he ran well again and was just outbattled this time.

He travelled into the race nicely, and almost got there too well, as those ahead of him couldn't take him any further. Consequently, Kieran felt he had to make his challenge a bit earlier than ideal but the front pair pulled a little bit clear and he went down fighting.

We'll give him a couple of weeks between runs and look for something similar next time as he's in good form.'


Aspire To Glory and his Owners for the Day following his second place finish

Aspire To Glory's Owners for the Day weren't disheartened, however, as on top of being able to spend the day at the racecourse with all the perks and benefits of being an owner, they also collected £1,280 in prize money for the second place finish.


Aspire To Glory's lucky Owners for the Day with jockey, Kieran O'Neill, before the race

Stay tuned for the next update from Kremlin Cottage Stables to find out when Aspire To Glory will be running next and how you could be in attendance for his next race as one of his Owners for the Day.