led narrowly 1f, tracked leader, ridden to lead again inside final 2f, headed inside final furlong, kept on same pace
tracked front pair, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace, no impression in 4th final furlong
held up in rear, headway on inside 3f out, soon chased leaders, ridden 2f out, switched outside to challenge over 1f out, led inside final furlong, kept on
held up in 4th, lost place when ridden well over 2f out, soon beaten, tailed off when eased 1f out
raced keenly, led after 1f, ridden and headed inside final 2f, kept on same pace, no impression in 3rd inside final furlong
Rita's Man has a decent strike-rate on Turf at a modest level and is only 4lb higher than when winning at Beverley in April. He makes more appeal than returning stablemate Kirbec. Ventura Gold has also won this year, at Newcastle, but is sent over a mile for the first time today. Thunderhooves is hard to recommend on what he’s shown so far so we’ll give another chance to KNIGHT IN ARMOUR,who hasn’t shown a great deal in handicaps so far but can’t get much lower in the weights and may well improve in first-time blinkers.
Rita's Man (IRE) 18-1 (9-1) Raced wide tracked leaders, went 2nd over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 10, 3 1/4l behind Music Seeker (9-8) at Wetherby 1m 2f hcp (5) gf in Jun.
Kirbec (IRE) 15-2 (9-2) Towards rear, ridden 3f out, never on terms, 7th of 11, 9 1/2l behind Regular Income (9-6) at Nottingham 1m (5) sft in Nov.
Ventura Gold (IRE) 9-1 (9-0) Held up towards rear, pushed along and headway approaching final furlong, stayed on towards finish, 4th of 11, 4l behind Knowing Glance (9-1) at Carlisle 7f hcp (5) gf in May.
Thunderhooves 100-1 (9-0) In touch, weakened over 3f out, tailed off, 8th of 9, 34 1/4l behind Knight To Behold (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 4f lst stks (1) gf in May.
Knight In Armour (IRE) 3-1 (9-7) Tracked leader, led 10f out, ridden and headed inside final 2f, lost 2nd inside final furlong, weakened, 5th of 8, 7 3/4l behind Elysees (9-8) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Apr.