made all, pushed clear 1f out, ran on final furlong
keen close up, ridden to chase winner 2f out, kept on same pace
slowly into stride, headway over 4f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out
tracked winner, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
outpaced halfway, kept on final furlong nearest finish
Although Baytown Flyer will be a popular choice to land the hat-trick after a series of solid performances since dropped into this grade, the Whittingham filly may struggle to confirm recent form with Mahlstick on these terms and is passed over in favour of the David Arbuthnot-trained gelding. Crafty Politician also has to be respected after bouncing back to form here last time but he has been failing to get home over this trip of late and may not be suited to the way things go if this develops into a dash for the line. Therefore, now that Mahlstick has started to show encouraging signs after returning from a long lay-off, he looks the one to be on in the search for a fair bet at a fair price here. The Tagula gelding meets Baytown Flyer on 6lb better terms for just over a length beating from the last time they met and will have no excuses in defeat if he fails to come out on top today. Bar Of Silver possesses a very modest level of ability and his position as best of the rest underlines how weak the opposition to Mahlstick really is here.
