led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
always prominent, ridden 3f out, stayed on well inside final furlong
hung right throughout, always behind
slowly into stride, behind, headway over 2f out, ran on inside final furlong, not trouble winner
chased leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened well over 1f out
slowly into stride, switched right and held up on outside, came very wide straight, never near leaders
prominent early, behind final 4f
mid-division, headway over 3f out, one pace final 2f
held up, ridden and effort over 3f out, weakend over 2f out
chased leaders, ridden and weakened over 2f out
always prominent, led 2f out, ridden over 1f out, ran on well
An intriguing race, which looks to be between Pick Of The Crop, Pompey Blue and Bond Brooklyn, with preference just for Pick Of The Crop. The selection is slightly worse off than official ratings suggest with Pompey Blue here, and both horses have good draws. However, the decisive factor may be that John Jenkins¿s gelding has been tried on Southwell¿s fibresand before, when he finished runner up to Alinda the other week. He has therefore shown he can handle the surface and we know that he sees out six furlongs well, so he is the tentative selection here. Wherever he is though Pompey Blue will not be far away. With that slight pull at the weights, plus a great run at Newmarket on her penultimate start in the locker, she can go very close. However, she does look as though an extra furlong will suit her better still, and that may just be her undoing again here. Of the remainder, Bond Brooklyn looks to be the pick on what we have seen. The Bryan Smart-trained colt has shown consistent form at this trip and if he gets a decent break here, the first-time visors should help him produce a big run. Keep an eye on the market also for newcomers Colour Code and Docklands Blue, who run from decent yards, but will be supporting Pick Of The Crop to live up to his name here.
