lead, ridden over 1f out, no extra when headed well inside final furlong
pressed leader, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, every chance 1f out, no extra final furlong
slowly into stride, always towards rear
chased leaders, slightly hampered after 1f, soon driven, ridden 2f out, ran on strongly to lead well inside final furlong readily
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
towards rear, stayed on from 2f out, not trouble leaders
chased leaders, ridden well over 1f out, weakened close home
chased leaders, hampered and lost position after 1f, never on terms again
slowly into stride, behind, some late headway, never dangerous
in touch, ridden 3f out, soon beaten
This looks to be quite a competitive seller, and the progressive Blue Moon Hitman is marginally preferred to Emaradia, Miss Brookie and Perfect Distance. The latter is the pick on official ratings, but has failed to live up to the promise she showed when third on her debut over today's course and distance and is probably best watched for now. Emaradia was scoring her first success when making all in a similar event at Folkestone last time, and David Evans' filly should again be thereabouts. Miss Brookie would have claims on the pick of her form, most notably when recording her sole victory at Thirsk, but appears to have gone slightly off the boil lately and is also probably best watched for now. So we side with Alan Berry's Blue Moon Hitman, who put up his best performance to date when second in a Beverley claimer last month, five lengths clear of the third horse. He appears to be going the right way, faces a similar task today, and is fancied to go one better under Francis Norton.
