led, ridden 2f out, stayed on until headed well inside final furlong, no extra close home
raced alone, never a factor
dwelt and towards rear, soon pushed along, effort over 2f out, no impression
towards rear, soon chased along, ridden 2f out, some late headway but was never near to challenge
was always behind
reared at start and slowly into stride, never dangerous
chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong, kept on
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
never better then mid-division
towards rear, never dangerous
chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, stayed on same pace
mid-division, outpaced halfway
chased leaders to halfway
The Mick Easterby-trained Lord John edges preference over the in-form Ashes, while Brut and Ben Casey are hard to split on what they have achieved so far and can scrap it out as the best of the rest. The former is now 2lb better off from the last time they met and David Barker's charge can win that personal battle. Ashes was the subject of a strong gamble at Musselburgh ten days ago and only narrowly failed to justify the support. The betting market will tell us whether she is expected to gain compensation today. However, there may be more to come from Lord John, whose yard have hit form at the right time for this. The Piccolo colt went well on two visits to this track last term and, with a line through Angleotfthenorth giving him a narrow verdict at the weights, we are prepared to take the chance that Lord John has been primed to do himself justice today.
Brut 6-1 Slowly into stride, held up in rear but in touch, ridden halfway, weakened over 1f out, last of 6, 3 1/2l behind Stephanie's Mind at Lingfield 5f 3yo mdn (D3) pol in Mar.
Ben Casey 6-1 Outpaced towards rear, ridden halfway, stayed on final furlong, 5th of 10, 5l behind Cerebus at Southwell 5f 3yo hcp (E3) fbs in Feb.
Branston Lily 40-1 Switched to race stands' side, always towards rear, 15th of 18, 24l behind Foreign Edition at Doncaster 6f 3yo mdn gd.
Pedlar of Dreams (IRE) 12-1 Always towards rear, 10th of 13, 13l behind Amanda's Lad at Southwell 6f mdn stk (D3) fbs in Feb.
Street Ballad (IRE) 8-1 Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon one pace, 7th of 12, 7l behind Strathtay at Musselburgh 7f 2yo sll (E3) sft in Oct.
Lord John 13-2 Went left at start, prominent, headway and every chance 1f out, soon ridden, no extra towards finish, 3rd of 14, 1l behind Connotation at Redcar 5f 2yo hcp 0-75 (E3) frm in Sept.
Small Time Blues (IRE) 40-1 With leader, led halfway, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 3rd of 4, 7l behind Storyville at W'hampton 6f 3yo mdn (D3) pol in Mar.
