raced wide, held up, ridden along 6f out, one pace final 3f
chased leaders, ridden along halfway, weakened over 5f out, tailed off
close up until weakened over 4f out
raced keenly, tracked leaders until weakened over 4f out
pulled hard, hung right most of way, soon led, headed 3f out, stayed on same pace under pressure
led early, pressed leader to 5f out, soon weakened under pressure
always behind, tailed off
held up, lost touch halfway, tailed off final 5f
in touch, went 2nd 5f out, led 3f out, driven clear over 1f out, stayed on well
held up, ridden along from halfway, outpaced over 4f out, kept on again from over 1f out
Phar Out Favourite gets the vote here ahead of Bounce Again, Golden Bay and Bonnyjo. The selection showed plenty of promise on his debut when fourth at Kempton in a better event than this and, sure to have come on for that, ought to go close here given normal improvement. Bonnyjo hails from a canny stable that has had winners in this type of company and, being French-bred, could be well-forward in its development, although the trainer tends to buy with the longer term in mind. The same stable also runs High Bird Humphrey so watch the betting for clues. Dylan The Villain is out of a winning mare, but her victories came at selling level. Golden Bay improved from her debut run to finish a good second at Fontwell next time. A stiffer track would be more preferable but she too has to be on the shortlist of possible winners of this contest. And it would be folly to rule out the Martin Pipe newcomer, Bounce Again, another French-bred that should know what it's all about at the first time of asking. Overall, though, we'll give the vote to Phar Out Favourite.
