towards rear, pushed along and headway 3f out, stayed on same pace final 2f
mid-division, pushed along, lost place after 3f out soon beaten
towards, never dangerous
tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in touch, pushed along and headway 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, hung left entering final furlong, kept on
held up towards rear, brief effort over 3f out, soon weakened
slowly into stride, always behind
mid-division, headway over 3f out, effort over 2f out, no extra final furlong
in touch, ridden 3f out, no extra final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, one pace final furlong
slowly into stride, held up in rear, pushed along over 3f out, ridden and kept on one pace final 2f
The feature event on the card has produced a predictably competitive field including several in-form rivals such as Mumbling, Sporting Gesture and Cosmic Case but preference is for Ipledgeallegiance. Formerly a smart performer with Ed Dunlop, the seven-year-old has struggled in recent times but took full advantage of a lenient mark when scoring with something in hand for today's rider over ten furlongs at Ayr last week. The son of Alleged is just as effective over this longer trip and still looks well treated under a 5lb penalty so can be expected to give another good account. Mumbling also incurs a similar penalty for a recent win at Thirsk but may have been slightly flattered by dictating the pace and won't find it easy to adopt the same tactics in this larger field. Sporting Gesture has proved a highly consistent performer this term scoring twice at Pontefract and York but has been raised in the handicap accordingly and may have to settle for a place on this occasion. Cosmic Case ran below his best over hurdles at the weekend but has claims off a light weight on the form of his recent Musselburgh success while Mana Pools is running in to form and could go well along with the tough Aleron but Ipledgeallegiance has plenty in his favour and looks the safest choice in a tough heat.
