in touch, ridden 3f out, kept on one pace
in touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened well over 1f out
held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, ran on inside final furlong
tracked winner, ridden 3f out, weakened well over 1f out
slowly into stride, towards rear, headway over 2f out, not reach leaders
towards rear, ridden 3f out, never nearer
held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, ran on final furlong, nearest finish
held up, ridden and some headway over 3f out, soon weakened
held up, never dangerous
held up, headway over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, no extra close home
held up, headway over 2f out, not reach leaders
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened
The hat-trick seeking On Guard is bound to be a popular choice with backers for this but he has suffered at the hands of the handicapper and we would rather look elsewhere with Forest Tune just getting the verdict of Gingko in a competitive contest. The selection was a rare winner over hurdles for Ben Hanbury during the winter and came back to the flat fit when opening his account for the campaign last week. The son of Charnwood Forest has only been raised 2lbs for that success and, with more to come over this furlong longer distance, he looks worth siding with again. Topweight Gingko was also in action over timber during the winter months but showed little encouragement on a return to the level recently and is probably bets left out of calculations. Pat Murphy's On Guard has done nothing wrong of late but a 9lb rise in the weights since gaining the first of his two recent wins at Warwick leaves him with more to do. Others worthy of a mention include Quite Remarkable from the in-form stable of Ian Williams, the consistent Summer Bounty for who Jimmy Fortune is an interesting jockey booking and Escalade, who showed improved form when chasing home Cripsey Brook at Newcastle last time.
