in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed last stride
led early, in touch, ridden over 1f out, one pace final furlong
held up, ridden and headway over 1f out, soon switched left, ran on strongly to lead last stride
prominent, ridden to lead over 2f out, headed over 1f out, one pace final furlong
in touch, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on
prominent, ridden over 3f out, weakened when not much room over 1f out
always behind
soon led and keen, ridden when hung right, headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, pushed along over 3f out, stayed on final furlong, never troubled leaders
The shortlisted three are Out For A Stroll, Queens Rhapsody and Golden Square, with the vote going to Queens Rhapsody. Hypnotic has a good draw and is running from a reasonable mark if able to put some indifferent recent runs behind him, while Out For A Stroll comes here at the height of his powers - such as they are - but a wide draw is not ideal and Blue Empire is weighted get closer to him than when they met at Brighton recently. There is no doubt that Queens Rhapsody is well weighted if she is in the mood, and first-time cheekpieces might sharpen up her act in this respect, while Iced Diamond needs to match his best all-weather form in order to score. Golden Square is another that is sporting cheekpieces for the first time and that has form enough to be considered, while for the remainder such descriptions as 'racing from out of the handicap' and 'not much in the way of recent form' to go on apply. It all adds up to a tricky race, in which Queens Rhapsody is a tentative selection.
Chicken Soup 11-2 (9-1) Towards rear, ridden and headway to chase leaders 2f out, one pace final furlong, 7th of 13, 2l behind Bridgewater Boys (8-9) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Feb.
Hypnotic 20-1 (9-11) In touch, driven over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 8th of 12, 13l behind Kaymich Perfecto (9-6) at Pontefract 1m hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Out For A Stroll 3-1fav (8-8) Mid-division, headway to lead over 2f out, hard pressed from over 1f out, headed and no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 14, 2l behind Tumbleweed Glory (9-5) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-80 (4) pol.
Blue Empire (IRE) 5-1 (9-12) In touch, not clear run over 1f out, ridden and stayed on, 6th of 15, 2 1/2l behind Out For A Stroll (9-6) at Brighton 1m hcp 0-60 (6) frm.
Queens Rhapsody 12-1 (8-12) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, 13th of 14, 17l behind Indian Spark (8-13) at Ayr 6f hcp 0-85 (6) gd in May.
Iced Diamond (IRE) 9-2 (10-0) Slowly into stride, held up, headway and not clear run 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on, never dangerous, 6th of 12, 5l behind Joshua's Gold (9-6) at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jun.
Golden Square 7-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 8th of 11, 18l behind Shifty (9-4) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs.
Khetaab (IRE) 5-1 (9-4) Slowly into stride and behind, outpaced halfway, never on terms, 5th of 7, 8l behind Charles Parnell (9-0) at Redcar 6f mdn stk (5) frm in Jun.
Sir Loin 12-1 (9-4) Led 1f, chased leader, ridden to lead again over 1f out, headed towards finish, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Sovereignty (9-4) at W'hampton 5f sll (6) pol.
Kirstys Lad 40-1 (9-7) Soon chasing leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, 6th of 9, 9l behind Elegant Times (8-10) at W'hampton 6f mdn stk (5) pol in Jun.
Merdiff 12-1 (9-9) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 10th of 12, 13l behind Joshua's Gold (9-6) at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jun.
