chased leaders, pushed along 3f out, ridden halfway, weakened well over 1f out
chased leaders, under pressure halfway, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, behind, ridden and some headway on rail final furlong, never near leaders
chased winner, strong challenge entering final furlong, no extra and well held final 100 yards
slowly into stride, pushed along in rear halfway, never a factor
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, one pace and no impression when weakened into 4th inside final furlong
raced on rail, made all, strongly pressed entering final furlong, found extra and in command final 100 yards
behind, headway on outside 2f out, ran on into 3rd inside final furlong, kept on near finish
SILVER LINNET is a real speed ball who won well on her last turf start and gets the vote to score from The Hermitage, whilst it'd be foolish to rule out a big run from Italian Tom on his return to turf. Alan Munro's mount won well having set testing fractions at Lingfield last time and that is the key to her - she needs to get to the front and see them all off. We doubt any of these are capable of containing her early and she returns to turf off an 8lbs higher mark than when last running on it; she was mightily impressive in victory that day and previous efforts suggest a liking for cut. The Hermitage is an interesting runner from the perpetually in-form Mark Johnston yard on her return from a break. She's bred to appreciate a bit of cut so did well to win on markedly quicker ground last year, whilst she's also likely to have improved for a winter. The market should tell us more about her claims but a second to the smart Don't Tell Mary suggests she's capable of going close from this mark. Italian Tom may start an appealing price for those searching for value against the likely market principles. Ron Harris' charge hasn't been pulling up trees lately but he's only 5lbs higher than his last winning mark now returned to turf and looks capable of going close with conditions perfect; the faster they go the better for this one. Leleyf won off just 2lbs lower last summer but that was over six furlongs and a couple of tries on ground worse than good have promised very little, so we're taking her on alongside Exceed Power who looks a better animal on artificial surfaces. Mrs Boss could surprise a few with a decent run but has to prove softening conditions aren't a problem and with that in mind we'll return to Silver Linnet.
The Hermitage (IRE) 25-1 (8-7) Prominent far side group until weakened over 2f out, 21st of 22, 32l behind Lucky Like (8-6) at Redcar 6f Lstd auc stks (1) gf in Oct.
Italian Tom (IRE) 7-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, pushed along halfway, weakened 2f out, last of 8, 19l behind Maoi Chinn Tire (8-12) at Kempton 6f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Mar.
Avonvalley 10-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened 1f out, 4th of 5, 7l behind Music Show (8-8) at Bath 6f 2yo nov stk (4) fm in Aug.
Leleyf (IRE) 13-2 (9-3) Behind, pushed along 3f out, soon struggling, 6th of 11, 4 1/2l behind Lewyn (8-7) at Wolverhampton 5f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Oct.
Avongate 66-1 (8-10) Outpaced, always behind, last of 10, 17l behind Freeforaday (9-4) at Kempton 6f 2yo hcp 0-90 (4) pol in Oct.
Mrs Boss 13-2 (9-1) Soon pushed along towards rear, came wide straight, one pace final furlong, 4th of 7, 5l behind Lewyn (9-4) at Wolverhampton 5f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Feb.
Silver Linnet (IRE) 10-3 (8-11) Made all, soon clear, ridden over 1f out, eased inside final furlong, unchallenged, won at Lingfield 5f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Mar beating Papageno (9-4) by 2 1/4l, 8 ran.
Exceed Power 15-8fav (9-4) Started very slowly, behind, headway on inside over 1f out, continually not clear run inside final furlong, switched right and ran on well towards finish, not recover, 6th of 7, 2 3/4l behind Ballyvonane (8-8) at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Mar.
