led stand side, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, no chance with far side
towards rear far side, ridden, headway over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong
in touch stand side, until weakened 3f out
chased leaders far side, led 2f out, ran on well
held up far side, ridden over 2f out, never dangerous, eased entering final furlong
chased leaders stand side, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, edged left
held up stand side, headway halfway, ridden over 2f out, stayed on
chased leaders far side, ridden over 2f out, stayed on
chased leader stand side, weakened 2f out
led far side, ridden, headed 2f out, soon weakened
slowly into stride, hampered start, soon in touch far side, ridden over 2f out, outpaced from over 1f out
in touch far side, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
behind far side, ridden, headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
In another seemingly competitive handicap, Crosby Vision is selected ahead of Beowulf and Neardown Beauty. The selection is the only one of these to have won over today's trip and, having blown the cobwebs away behind some better types than he faces today on his seasonal return, can go well today. Beowulf gets plenty of respect as he was only just beaten off today's mark at Musselburgh on his seasonal return, and first-time blinkers could help things along. Abbey Cat has shown enough in the way of form to be considered; Moonstreaker is not far behind Crosby Vision based on juvenile form, and Neardown Beauty showed improved form to finish second to a well-backed runner in Pressure Putt at Brighton last time and first-time cheekpieces could further help the cause. Naturally enough, one of the variables in assessing this race is that there are any number of potential improvers lining up including The Osteopath and Esoterica, who ran fairly well from a modest draw on his seasonal return; that said, we return to the selection, which is Crosby Vision.
Crosby Vision 7-1 (8-12) Steadied at start, held up, driven over 2f out, one pace until weakened, eased inside final furlong, 5th of 6, 9l behind Sir Gerard (9-4) at Beverley 7f 3yo hcp (3) gf in Apr.
Strong Approach (IRE) 5-1 (9-6) Mid-division, pushed along halfway, ridden and no impression final 2f, 8th of 13, 7l behind Dasheena (7-7) at Carlisle 6f 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) frm in Sept.
Abbey Cat (IRE) 20-1 (8-12) Held up, headway over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 6th of 14, 4l behind Top Shot (8-13) at Thirsk 1m 3yo hcp (5) gs in Apr.
Neardown Beauty (IRE) 14-1 (8-9) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, carried head high and no impression inside final furlong, 2nd of 10, 1/2l behind Pressure Putt (9-4) at Brighton 7f 3yo hcp (5) frm in Apr.
Royal Composer (IRE) 7-1 (9-0) Towards rear, driven along halfway, some late headway, never reached challenging position, 6th of 11, 5l behind Sunderland Echo (8-9) at Pontefract 6f mdn stk (5) gd in Apr.
Apache Nation (IRE) 6-1 (8-10) Mid-division stand side, pushed along halfway, no impression, 10th of 17, 6l behind Dream Mountain (8-10) at Newcastle 7f 2yo mdn aut (6) gf in Sept.
Esoterica (IRE) 11-2 (9-0) Never better than mid-division, 9th of 11, 6l behind Sunderland Echo (8-9) at Pontefract 6f mdn stk (5) gd in Apr.
The History Man (IRE) 18-1 (8-11) Chased leaders stands side group, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace, 8th of 17, 5l behind Antica (9-7) at Ripon 6f 3yo hcp (4) sft in Apr.
