slowly into stride, held up in mid-division, headway on outside 3f out, no impression over 1f out
fly jumped leaving stalls, held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, never on terms
held up in mid-division on inside, took keen hold, headway over 1f out, switched left inside final furlong, kept on same pace final 50 yards
tracked leaders on outside, took keen hold, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace inside final furlong
chased leaders, driven over 1f out, soon beaten, weakened inside final furlong
made all, quickened over 1f out, soon clear, ran on well
held up in mid-division, took keen hold, not clear run entering final furlong, soon switched right, ran on, went 2nd towards finish, not trouble winner
prominent, driven over 1f out, kept on same pace, no extra close home
slowly into stride, held up in rear, not much room on rail over 1f out, no progress
held up towards rear on outside, ran on inside final furlong, went 3rd close home
pushed along early, chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
prominent, took keen hold, ridden over 1f out, no extra well inside final furlong, not much room close home
William Haggas trained last year’s winner and Island Of Life has every chance. He separated higher rated horses than these when runner-up in Listed company at Wolverhampton last time and beat subsequent winners Castle Hill Cassie and Crossing The Line at the same track before that. The former re-opposes on more favourable terms today but RASIMA (NAP) makes most appeal despite returning from a lay-off. Roger Varian’s yard has been firing-in the winners this week and his filly ended last year beating a rival rated 104 in a Listed contest here. She’ll likely claim her favoured racing position sitting just off the pace from a low draw and a bold bid is expected. A wide draw won’t inconvenience last month’s Chelmsford winner Clon Coulis, who is usually held-up for a late surge, but the unexposed front-runner Heavenly Holly will need to be quickly away drawn out widest of all. Gorgeous Noora was progressing well in sprints on the all-weather before well beaten at Doncaster though has something to prove over this longer trip.
Castle Hill Cassie (IRE) 2-1jfav (9-10) won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp fll (2) pol in Jan beating Pride's Gold (8-11) by 3/4l, 6 ran.
Clon Coulis (IRE) 4-7fav (9-3) won at Chelmsford City 1m fll stks (2) pol in Mar beating Pattie (9-0) by 1 3/4l, 5 ran.
Crossing The Line 5-1 (9-1) won at Kempton 7f stks (3) pol in Mar beating Glendevon (9-2) by hd, 4 ran.
Cry Baby (IRE) (8-11) won at Chantilly 6f hcp gd in Mar beating Imperial Tango (9-8) by 1/2l, 16 ran.
Gorgeous Noora (IRE) 16-1 (9-6) 6th of 8, 9 1/4l behind Invincible Army (9-8) at Doncaster 6f lst stks (1) gd in Mar.
Heavenly Holly (IRE) (8-11) 5th of 16, 1/2l behind Lunch Lady (8-11) at Deauville 7f lst stks pol in Dec.
Island Of Life (USA) 7-1 (8-12) 2nd of 8, 1l behind Above The Rest (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f lst stks (1) pol in Mar.
Pattie 50-1 (9-2) 8th of 26, 16 3/4l behind Chatez (9-4) at Newbury 1m hcp (2) gs in Apr.
Rasima 14-1 (8-12) won at Lingfield 1m lst fll stks (1) pol in Nov beating Move Swiftly (8-12) by 1 1/4l, 12 ran.
Silvery Mist (FR) (8-13) 6th of 8, 3 1/4l behind Rayon Vert (8-13) at Chantilly 6f stks gs in Apr.
Toy Theatre 5-2 (9-7) 4th of 8, 2 1/4l behind Tiger Eye (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp fll (3) pol in Mar.
Treasure Me 11-2 (9-2) 2nd of 8, 2l behind Tiger Eye (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp fll (3) pol in Mar.
