held up 5th, stayed on steadily from over 1f out, led last strides (hand timed)
settled in rear, well in touch 2f out, not clear run over 1f out, soon outpaced
held up 4th, effort inside final 2f, no impression when slightly checked inside final furlong
tracked leader, ridden to dispute lead over 1f out, every chance final furlong, no extra close home
tracked leaders, not clear run and checked on inner over 1f out, rallied and ran on well final 50 yards
led and set steady pace, quickened over 2f out, joined over 1f out, battled well under pressure, headed last strides
pulled hard towards rear, slightly outpaced over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, not reach leaders
This is a smashing little race with Zamboozle given the verdict ahead of Cold Turkey and Zonergem. The selection is now actually closely weighted with The Violin Player based on their meeting here 15 days ago over 12 furlongs. However, the selection struck us as an improver there, which is entirely likely given his breeding and he can endorse that view today. Cold Turkey, Zonergem and Gavroche also look closely weighted if you work on formlines using Polygonal. Cold Turkey often goes well here and looks to us to be competitively weighted, while Zonergem looked a winner in waiting last time and, despite the fact that he is quirky, normal improvement from that run would see him go well. And much as Gavroche is closely weighted with Cold Turkey based on their latest meeting, the former is weighted to beat him based on their runs in this race last year, and he is a more proven performer at today's trip. Finally, Nawamees ran well over two miles here last time and, even though he lacks a recent run, might go well for his locally-based stable, but Country Pursuit is a little hard to assess and lacks a recent run. All of which returns us to the selection, which is Zamboozle.
Cold Turkey 9-2 (9-6) Held up, headway over 2f out, ridden well over 1f out, one pace, 5th of 7, 4 1/2l behind Arturius (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) pol.
Gavroche (IRE) 5-1 (9-5) Dwelt, held up, came wide entering straight, ridden when headway and hung left final furlong, ran on, 3rd of 7, 4 1/2l behind Arturius (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) pol.
Zonergem 10-1 (8-10) Held up in rear, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 9, 3l behind Sri Diamond (9-4) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) pol in Feb.
Nawamees (IRE) 11-2 (9-8) Held up in touch, headway to chase winner over 2f out, effort over 1f out, no impression inside final furlong, 2nd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Garden Society (9-7) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Oct.
The Violin Player (USA) 4-1jt-fav (9-2) Mid-division, headway 2f out, led briefly 1f out, not pace of winner, 2nd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Zamboozle (8-5) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Country Pursuit (USA) 50-1 (8-12) Chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, outpaced from over 2f out, last of 6, 15l behind Art Eyes (8-7) at Newmarket 1m 6f 3yo lst stk (1) gd in Sept.
Zamboozle (IRE) 4-1jt-fav (8-5) In rear, headway over 2f out, led inside final furlong, edged left, ran on, won at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol beating The Violin Player (9-2) by 1 1/2l, 10 ran.
