led, ridden 3f out, stayed under pressure, just outpaced and headed well inside final furlong
took keen hold, raced wide in touch, ridden 3f out, soon outpaced and in rear
tracked leaders, chased leader well over 2f out, soon ridden, stayed on under pressure to lead well inside final furlong
tracked leader to well over 2f out, soon hung badly left to stands side rail, not recover
in rear, in touch 3f out, ridden and outpaced final 2f
raced keenly, in rear, headway to chase leaders over 2f out, soon edged left and no impression over 1f out
An interesting, if unspectacular race can go to Soft Morning, who is selected in preference to Hurlingham, Circus Polka and Hollywood George. The last named landed the odds in an ordinary maiden at Lingfield on Boxing Day - holding on grimly from a 63-rated rival near the line. He needs to find improvement but is going the right way and can find another race before too long. The unbeaten Circus Polka is an obvious danger to the selection, as he is also on the upgrade. However, the worth of the form of his latest start looks dubious and he may meet his match if the selection continues to thrive as anticipated. Hurlingham's latest start received a boost of sorts last week and, with his stable in flying form, he is also rated a major player at this level. This is a much stiffer assignment for Mark Johnston's charge though and no quarter measures will be good enough. So preference is given to Soft Morning, who has shown a zest for making the running and this daughter of Pivotal is fancied to be too hard to reel in if she is allowed an easy lead today.
Soft Morning 5-4fav (8-12) Made all, ridden over 2f out, driven out, won at W'hampton 7f 3yo mdn (5) pol beating Arch of Titus (9-3) by 3l, 10 ran.
Circus Polka (USA) 7-4 (8-9) Pulled hard, tracked leader, led over 1f out, soon hung right, carried head high, ran on final furlong, comfortably, won at Southwell 1m 2yo hcp 0-95 (4) fbs in Dec beating Eau Good (9-0) by 2 1/2l, 4 ran.
Hurlingham 2-5fav (9-3) Prominent, led over 3f out, clear over 1f out, easily, won at Southwell 1m 3yo mdn (5) fbs beating Milla's Rocket (8-12) by 3l, 14 ran.
Benny The Bat 4-7fav (9-3) Reared start, soon recovered to chase leaders, led over 2f out, hung left over 1f out, soon clear, eased towards finish, won at W'hampton 1m 1f 2yo mdn auc (6) pol in Dec beating Bewildering (9-3) by 5l, 6 ran.
Swift Cut (IRE) 6-1 (9-2) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 8th of 9, 3 1/2l behind Palo Verde (9-5) at Lingfield 6f nov stk (4) pol in Oct.
Hollywood George 4-5fav (9-3) In touch, ridden and switched left over 1f out, narrow leader 1f out, held on, won at W'hampton 6f 2yo mdn (5) pol in Dec beating Le Masque (9-0) by a shd, 7 ran.
