mid-division, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
led, ridden 2f out, headed 1f out, edged left and no extra inside final furlong
prominent, ridden to lead 1f out, headed and not quicken inside final furlong
hampered soon after start and outpaced
slowly into stride, held up, ridden and headway 2f out, hung left over 1f out, stayed on, not reach leaders
mid-division, hampered soon after start, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong
mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, not reach leaders
in touch, ridden over 2f out, hung left over 1f out, led inside final furlong, ran on
chased leaders, not much room over 6f out, ridden halfway, weakened over 2f out
This looks an above average maiden for the track and it could go the way of Middle Earth, with Twin Peaks and Castanza two obvious dangers. Andrew Balding's colt started his racing life in a decent Windsor maiden back in July, finishing and excellent second to Clove. He disappointed a little next time on soft ground at Kempton, but bounced back to form at Lingfield in October finishing second to a horse rated in the eighties. If he handles this different surface he will prove very hard to beat. David Loder has made a flying start to 2005 and he runs the newcomer Twin Peaks, who cost 110 thousand euros and has a decent American pedigree, the market should give a good guide to this one's chances. Castanza is trained by Hughie Morrison and displayed plenty of promise when finishing an excellent second behind Sir Nod at Wolverhampton recently. Cape Unknown may prove best of the remainder, but Middle Earth can put his experience to good use here and he gets the vote
