steadied start, took keen hold in mid-division, weakened over 2f out
slowly away, behind, stayed on final furlong, never near leaders
held up in touch, pushed along and headway over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
always prominent, led over 4f out, ran on well
with leaders, pushed along from over 2f out, stayed on same pace final 2f
always prominent, went 2nd over 1f out, kept on but no impression on winner inside final furlong
slowly into stride, mid-division, headway 2f out, no impression final furlong
always prominent, pushed along 3f out, stayed on same pace final 2f
led, headed over 4f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, held up in rear, some headway 3f out, soon beaten
held up, in touch, pushed along after 2f, stayed on final furlong, never dangerous
With so many debutants here it is hard to make a selection but maybe Grand Marque holds the key. The Richard Hannon-trained colt showed promise on his debut over today's trip at Newmarket 12 days ago and, with the form looking reasonably solid, he should be able to make that experience pay and run a good race. The only other runner with racing experience is the well-bred Bakke, who has a mixture of influences in his pedigree, although his dam stayed 12 furlongs plus. The six furlongs he ran over on his debut was inadequate and he should improve tonight. As we say, there are a number of interesting newcomers in the race, including Jonquil, Guyana and North Shore and the betting market might provide a few clues as to the chances of these and, indeed, others in the line-up. Once again, there are too many imponderables in this race to be making a confident selection so Grand Marque is offered up as only a tentative choice in an interesting contest.
