in touch, headway on outer over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
slowly into stride, in rear, headway on inner well over 1f out, stayed on to lead inside final furlong
held up, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
led, ridden over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra
tracked leader and keen, ridden, lost place over 2f out
held up in rear, weakened 2f out
tracked leaders, challenged 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
Nonrunner
PRINCESS FLAME gets the vote to land the lucky last, while Smarterthanuthink and Royal Fantasy are others on the short list. The selection has won two of her last three starts and prefers a sound surface, although she won't mind if the rains come. A 6lb penalty will clearly make her task tougher, but she stayed on strongly when winning over course and distance last time and we'll take her to follow up. Smarterthanuthink should relish this stiff track and has proved that he stays further when winning at Hamilton and going close over 12f at Ripon. His handicap mark appears to be his biggest issue here and that may just find him out. Royal Fantasy has won only once from 14 attempts, but she has run some good races in defeat and is not beyond making the frame today. Celtic Strand steps up in trip to 10 furlongs for the first time and that could help to bring about further improvement. This is not as tough as the races he has contested recently and Thomas Tate is a very shrewd operator with limited numbers, so don't rule this gelding out. New Star is on a decent mark and seems to act well over this trip and on any ground, so we give him due respect. Little towards the bottom of the racecard appeals at these weights and we're hoping that nothing can hold a candle to Princess Flame.
New Star (UAE) 13-2 (10-0) Tracked winner, ridden 3f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 8, 8l behind Wind Shuffle (9-6) at Hamilton 1m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Aug.
Princess Flame (GER) 8-1 (9-4) Mid-division, headway 3f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on under pressure to lead towards finish, won at Pontefract 1m 2f app hcp (5) gs beating Timocracy (9-4) by a nk, 15 ran.
Paradise Walk 33-1 (9-11) Raced keenly in touch, driven 2f out, kept on same pace, 7th of 15, 16l behind Princess Flame (9-4) at Pontefract 1m 2f app hcp (5) gs.
Celtic Strand (IRE) 16-1 (8-11) Jumped left at start, soon in touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 9, 23l behind Nevada Desert (9-1) at Beverley 1m hcap (4) gf in Jul.
Smarterthanuthink (USA) 9-4fav (9-2) Led, headed over 3f out, soon beaten, last of 8, 26l behind Lilac Moon (9-5) at Doncaster 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Jul.
Byron Bay 33-1 (8-12) Dwelt, held up, always behind, 11th of 15, 21l behind Princess Flame (9-4) at Pontefract 1m 2f app hcp (5) gs.
Boppys Pride 28-1 (8-7) Always towards rear, 9th of 13, 14l behind Moheebb (9-7) at Hamilton 1m 1f hcp 0-70 (5) sft.
Coral Shores 8-1 (9-0) Raced keenly, with leaders, effort over 2f out, soon ridden, no extra, 5th of 15, 12l behind Princess Flame (9-4) at Pontefract 1m 2f app hcp (5) gs.
Royal Fantasy (IRE) 28-1 (8-13) Chased leaders until weakened over 1f out, 11th of 17, 18l behind Medici Pearl (8-12) at Redcar 1m hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
Guerilla (AUS) 40-1 (9-4) Mid-division on outside, ridden 4f out, soon struggling, 12th of 13, 21l behind Wind Flow (9-6) at Kempton 1m 4f clm (6) pol.
