prominent, ridden halfway, soon beaten, virtually pulled up
held up, ridden over 4f out, soon beaten
always towards rear
prominent and mid-division after 5f, ridden over 4f out, soon beaten
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, switched left over 2f out, kept on but not reach winner
mid-division, ridden over 4f out, soon beaten
mid-division, ridden over 4f out, soon beaten
soon led, ridden 3f out, kept on well
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon one pace
prominent, ridden over 3f out, gradually weakened
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon one pace
Rare Coincidence gets a tentative vote over the likes of Hernando's Boy, Trance, Gone Too Far and Golden Boot to name but a few. Stamina is obviously the key in this two-mile event on softish ground, and with a fair racing weight, Rare Coincidence is taken to come good. Roger Fisher's charge is a confirmed front-runner and has been staying on well when headed on the all-weather on each of his three outings over middle-distances at Wolverhampton this month. His last visit to the winner's enclosure was actually over hurdles at Uttoxeter in November when he galloped on relentlessly through the rain-softened ground, and we can expect Francis Norton to try and dominate from start to finish here. Trance will not mind the cut in the ground either and his turn is near, but the concession of over a stone to the selection makes his task tough. Hernando's Boy has not run since scoring over hurdles at Huntingdon in December, while Gone Too Far finished third over timber here in February and Golden Boot was a beaten favourite at Wolverhampton who will appreciate the step back up in trip. Alan Munro seems to have the knack of judging the pace in staying contests judged by his exploits on Sergeant Cecil so it will be interesting to see if he can get Kristensen into this at the business end. In any case though we expect Rare Coincidence to lead from pillar to post.
Bernardon (GER) (9-1) Always towards rear, 9th of 11, 13l behind Aghnoyoh (8-11) at Cologne 1m Grp 2 (A) sft in Sept '01.
Trance (IRE) 10-3 (9-10) Held up, headway 2f out, every chance approaching final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 7, nk behind He's A Star (8-9) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Feb.
Kristensen 15-2 (8-8) Held up, pushed along over 5f out, weakened over 3f out, 7th of 8, 28l behind Kylkenny (9-1) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs.
Vicious Prince (IRE) 40-1 (8-5) Held up, in touch, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, last of 12, 17l behind Newnham (8-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Hernando's Boy 9-1 (8-12) Held up, headway over 3f out, ridden to lead over 2f out, kept on well, won at Catterick 1m 6f hcp (5) sft in Nov beating Grey Plover (9-4) by 5l, 17 ran.
Golden Boot 9-2fav (10-13) Held up, headway over 2f out, soon ridden, one pace, 4th of 11, 3l behind Bid For Fame (10-9) at W'hampton 1m 4f amt hcp (5) pol in Feb.
Zoltano (GER) 8-1 (8-8) Tracked leaders, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, last of 17, 32l behind George Stubbs (7-10) at Ripon 2m hcp 0-90 (C) gs in Apr '04.
John Forbes 28-1 (8-7) Led and keen, headed after 1f, ridden over 2f out and soon weakened, 10th of 11, 12l behind Cordier (8-12) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Feb.
Gone Too Far 18-1 (8-7) Held up, headway over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out, eased when beat inside final furlong, 3rd of 6, 14l behind Rooftop Protest (9-7) at Musselburgh 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Nov.
Rare Coincidence 7-2fav (8-10) Led, ridden and headed well over 1f out, not quicken inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2 1/2l behind Birthday Star (8-7) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcap (6) pol.
Sconced (USA) 20-1 (8-4) Led, pushed along and headed over 7f out, soon beaten, last of 10, well behind Kahyasi Princess (9-5) at Haydock 2m hcp 0-75 (E) gf in Jul '03.
