made all, ridden final furlong, ran on under pressure
chased winner until halfway, soon ridden, kept on same pace
in touch, ridden halfway, soon weakened
always towards rear
pushed along to chase leaders, ridden over halfway, kept on same pace
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
close up, chased winner halfway, ridden over 1f out, ran on well inside final furlong
always behind
in rear and raced wide, ridden halfway, never dangerous
Playtime Blue can get the better of fellow topweight Cash, with Empress Josephine and Queen of Bulgaria other dangers to consider. The latter hails from the Newmarket stable of Jeff Pearce and would probably be more of a threat had she had a recent outing. However, she is not badly weighted, and if anywhere near fit, can reach the frame at least. For win purposes though, we prefer the claims of Playtime Blue, a course and distance winner here the time before last. Karl Burke's four-year-old, who is trained at the stable's satellite yard in Marlborough, very nearly followed up when put over six furlongs here last week, but was beaten a neck by Johnston's Diamond. He should have no problem scoring over that trip in future, but the drop back to the minimum is in his favour at present. Empress Josephine tried to make all here 11 days ago, but succumbed to the late challenge of Cash and went down by a neck. She meets that rival on six-pound better terms here and should reverse the form. In what could turn into a close finish, we take Playtime Blue to come out on top.
