keen, tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 2f out
went left start, pulled hard, soon chased winner, ridden 2f out, driven and hung left 1f out, no impression inside final furlong
steadied start, held up, ridden over 2f out, no impression from over 1f out
keen, tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out
made all, ridden 2f out, ran on
in rear, outpaced from halfway
pulled hard, tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, no impression final furlong
REJECT is accepted here as the nomination; the shortlist consists of Desire To Excel, Senor Berti and Golden Rosie in what looks a great little handicap. William Haggas had his horses in good form in May and this progressive son of Green Desert was one of his winners, scoring easily at Pontefract by five lengths. Evidently a lover of quick ground, he is open to more improvement and although he will need to in order to defy this opening handicap mark of 75, he looks worth chancing. Senor Berti was a winner at Catterick on his final start last season but the feeling is that he might need a drop of rain, so of more interest may be Golden Rosie who has shown ability on a variety of surfaces but it may be that six furlongs on quick ground turns out to be her optimum racing conditions. Arteus and Charlietoo need to improve, whilst Perfect Class is consistent and blinkers may eek out some improvement, however Desire To Excel is the interesting one. Paul Cole's well-bred three-year-old didn't act at Southwell last time out but he is better judged on his narrow Musselburgh win in April. Plenty to consider here, but the most obvious is Reject who is nominated accordingly.
Senor Berti 10-3 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden well over 1f out, effort when not clear run and switched outside entering final furlong, stayed on well to lead final 50 yards, won at Catterick 7f 2yo mdn aut (6) gs in Oct beating Tropical Blue (8-12) by 1 1/4l, 10 ran.
Arteus 16-1 (8-13) Prominent, ridden along 3f out, weakened 2f out, last of 13, 19l behind Arrivederla (9-2) at Haydock 7f hcp 0-80 (4) sft in May.
Golden Rosie (IRE) 8-1 (8-10) Towards rear, never dangerous, last of 16, 29l behind Dream In Waiting (8-1) at Doncaster 6f 2yo fll hcp (2) sft in Sep.
Reject 8-13fav (9-2) Close up, led final furlong, stayed on well, won at Hamilton 6f mdn stks (5) gf in May beating Rogalt (9-2) by 5l, 8 ran.
Desire To Excel (IRE) 9-1 (9-6) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 14, 8l behind Silent Hero (9-6) at Southwell 7f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) fbs.
Charlietoo 66-1 (9-0) Chased leader until ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 8th of 12, 9l behind Sunshine Always (9-0) at Wolverhampton 7f mdn stks (5) pol in May.
Perfect Class 4-1fav (8-12) Tracked leaders, driven to challenge over 1f out, soon hung left under pressure, kept on, 2nd of 18, 1/2l behind Cheap Thrills (9-5) at Newmarket 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
