held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, kept on, never near leaders
held up in touch, ridden to chase leaders over 2f out, weakened final furlong
slowly away, headway on inside to go mid-division halfway, ridden 3f out, chased leading pair over 1f out, stayed on to take 2nd inside final furlong
keen, chased leaders, headway to lead 4f out, ridden, headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
prominent, tracked leading pair over 3f out, led over 1f out, ridden clear
slowly into stride, towards rear, headway on inside over 2f out, kept on, not trouble leaders
mid-division, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out
keen, tracked leader until over 4f out, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out
led, headed halfway, remained close up, ridden, weakened over 1f out
always in rear
tracked leaders, lost place over 4f out, driven, kept on over 1f out
slowly away, always behind
Pawn In Life gets the nod over Bishops Finger, with Devil's Island, Edin Burgher and Aggravation worth a mention as well in an open finale. Pawn In Life is really a course specialist at Southwell where he has won seven times in all, but he has been successful here in the past, and the step up to a mile will also help his cause as his stamina will come into play. His only recent run on Turf was against the top-class Etlaala at Warwick, and although he was outclassed, that shows that connections rate him. The Mark Polglase inmate is taken to oblige at the expense of Bishops Finger, a course winner who is interestingly dropped back a couple of furlongs after finding no extra of late. Devils Island comes from the shrewdest of yards and should be noted in the market, while Edin Burgher is back at his favourite track and makes some place appeal off his light weight. Aggravation could do with some help from the handicapper so is passed over, and having weighed up the options, the opinion is that Pawn In Life has more chance than most.
Aggravation 5-1 (9-6) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, 7th of 10, 6l behind Fajr (9-4) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Apr.
Goose Chase 14-1 (8-12) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, held when not much room on rails near finish, 4th of 14, 1 1/2l behind Quantum Leap (8-13) at Kempton 7f hcap (5) pol.
Samuel Charles 20-1 (8-4) Held up towards rear, ridden, headway on inner over 2f out, hung left, carried head high from over 1f out, soon weakened, 11th of 14, 7l behind Phluke (8-10) at Southwell 7f hcap (4) gd in Apr.
Hollow Jo 15-2 (8-13) Tracked leader, raced keenly, lost place over 3f out, soon beaten, 9th of 13, 2 1/2l behind Ektishaaf (8-4) at Lingfield 7f hcap (5) pol in Apr.
Devil's Island 11-4fav (8-12) Chased leader to centre, ridden over 2f out, stayed on one pace inside final furlong, 4th of 10, 10l behind Polish Index (8-8) at Yarmouth 1m hcap (5) gf in Apr.
Bishops Finger 25-1 (9-3) Close up, driven to challenge entering final furlong, unable to quicken, 4th of 15, 3 1/2l behind Dinner Date (8-12) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Pawn In Life (IRE) 4-1 (8-8) Behind, soon pushed along, headway over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, stayed on, won at Southwell 7f app hcp (6) fbs beating Contented (8-10) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Edin Burgher (FR) 4-1jt-fav (8-13) Held up, ridden and headway on inside 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Iced Diamond (9-0) at W'hampton 7f hcap (6) pol in Apr.
