chased leaders, effort over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, ran on well
slowly away, soon outpaced, well beaten halfway, tailed off
prominent, lost place 2f out
chased leaders, ridden to challenge over 2f out, soon every chance, weakened inside final furlong
held up mid-division, headway over 1f out, never nearer
led, ridden and headed inside final furlong, weakened quickly
chased leaders over 3f, soon weakened
held up, headway over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong nearest finish
mid-division, headway over 1f out, stayed on well, never nearer
Not a strong race by any means and it is the less exposed CATCHPENNY who is preferred to Residency and Fatal Attraction. Kevin Ryan's filly was third on her debut at Hamilton in desperate ground. She was beaten four lengths at the line having shown plenty of dash and with this better ground and shorter trip in her favour she is taken to run well. Irish challenger Optional Dream has been exposed as modest so far but she needs a market check, whilst Rae Guest's Fatal Attraction has run three fair races. With a rating of 59 she is the second highest rated in the race, highlighting the weakness of the contest. It should be noted that it is a long way for Rae Guest to bring just one horse to the meeting. Tripbiyah needs to improve on two runs over a mile at Pontefract and he will find this a very different test; there are winning sprinters in his bloodlines however. Residency has a rating of 65 and his recent second to Scrapper Smith in similar conditions stands out as the best piece of form on offer. However he has had plenty of chances and we will take Catchpenny to improve past him.
Castlecarra (IRE) 28-1 (8-12) Held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, edged left over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 13, 14l behind Equinine (8-12) at Redcar 6f mdn stks (5) gf.
Half A Crown (IRE) 11-1 (8-10) Led after 1f, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 10th of 15, 8l behind Averoo (9-3) at Redcar 6f hcp 0-55 (6) gf in Aug.
Howards Way 20-1 (9-0) Always behind, 12th of 15, 9l behind Woodsley House (8-13) at Ayr 6f hcap (5) sft in Aug '08.
Old Firm 33-1 (9-3) Slowly away, always behind, last of 11, 46l behind Cheyenne Red (9-3) at Hamilton 6f mdn stks (5) sft in Aug.
Residency (IRE) 5-1 (9-7) Keen, tracked leaders, not clear run and lost place over 1f out, ridden and ran on inside final furlong to take 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1 1/4l behind Scrapper Smith (9-4) at Ayr 5f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) sft in Aug.
Tripbiyah (USA) 15-2 (9-1) Keen, chased winner, ridden over 2f out, weakened and lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 7, 9l behind Park Lane (9-1) at Pontefract 1m mdn stks (4) gf in Aug.
Bettys Touch 33-1 (8-3) Slowly into stride in rear, ridden headway over 2f out, weakened 1f out, 9th of 12, 13l behind Certain Promise (9-6) at Leicester 1m 3yo hcp (5) gf in Jul '08.
Fatal Attraction 6-1 (9-5) Chased leaders, ridden along halfway, driven and kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 8, 5l behind Avertor (9-3) at Doncaster 5f mdn stks (4) gs in Jun.
Tarus (IRE) 25-1 (8-7) Chased leaders over 3f, last of 9, 21l behind Present Alchemy (9-3) at Beverley 5f mdn stks (5) gf in Aug.
Town And Gown 100-1 (8-9) Held up in rear, raced keenly, switched right over 3f out, never near leaders, 7th of 13, 16l behind Equinine (8-12) at Redcar 6f mdn stks (5) gf.
Catchpenny 3-1 (8-12) Keen, close up, ridden to press winner over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 3rd of 4, 4l behind Liberty Trail (9-3) at Hamilton 6f mdn auc stks (5) hvy in Aug.
Optional Dream (IRE) 33-1 (9-11) Always towards rear, last of 10, 37l behind The Hamptons (9-11) at Laytown 6f hcp 47-65.
