towards rear, ridden halfway, some headway over 1f out, never nearer
chased leaders, ridden halfway, stayed on same pace from over 1f out
tracked leader until over 2f out
tracked leader, ridden halfway, kept on same pace from over 1f out
slowly into stride, always in rear
raced wide, chased leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, headway to chase leader over 1f out, ridden to lead narrowly inside final furlong, driven out
mid-divion, ridden and weakened over 2f out
in rear, never a factor
raced wide, pushed along in mid-divion, ridden halfway, headway over 1f out, never nearer
broke well, soon led, ridden 2f out, hung left over 1f out, headed narrowly inside final furlong, stayed on
It'll be fascinating to see if the money comes again for Captain Imperial now dropped to seven, but we'll let recent form be our guide in siding with BOLD DIVA ahead of Nabeeda. Tony Carroll has his string in decent health and this mare is no exception, having taken a close second last time. As that race was last Thursday she actually gets to run off a 2lb lower mark before the handicapper can react, so now looks the time to get with her. That improved display did come at Wolverhampton but she's got form here too; a close second off 5lbs higher last May demonstrates her versatility and seven furlongs is spot-on. Contrastingly, Nabeeda may be better over six, but in a weak race this gelding enters calculations. The son of Namid has only one win from 18 starts and that came over five furlongs on turf, but he acts at Southwell and may be able to see out the trip against these. Captain Imperial was backed in from 40/1 to a single figure price last time and showed up well for a while, so this drop back to seven furlongs may enable further progress but bookmakers aren't likely to be caught napping this time. He may go off an artificially short price and is opposable here, with both Hard Ball and Tri Chara making more appeal. The last mentioned has shown little of late but should benefit for stepping back up to seven furlongs and races off a tempting mark whilst Hard Ball returns to the scene of his last win and should be all the better for it. Sirjosh has an appealingly unexposed profile but his one try here resulted in comprehensive defeat, so we'll return to Bold Diva for our idea of the winner.
Captain Imperial (IRE) 7-1 (8-12) With leaders, led over 3f out, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 13, 10l behind Pendragon (9-0) at Southwell 1m hcp (0-55) (6) fbs in Feb.
Tri Chara (IRE) 14-1 (8-13) Mid-division on inside, ridden over 2f out, not clear run and switched right over 1f out, kept on, 4th of 13, 5l behind Fuzzy Cat (8-9) at Southwell 6f hcp (0-55) (6) fbs in Feb.
Vogarth 40-1 (8-7) Slowly into stride, soon pushed along towards rear, 8th of 13, 9l behind Fuzzy Cat (8-9) at Southwell 6f hcp (0-55) (6) fbs in Feb.
Nabeeda 9-2 (10-10) Prominent, ridden 2f out, chased winner 1f out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 11, 1 1/4l behind Albero Di Giuda (10-5) at Wolverhampton 6f am hcp 0-55 (6) pol in Feb.
Hard Ball 13-2 (8-13) Held up mid-division and keen, headway over 1f out, ridden inside final furlong, kept on, 3rd of 9, 3 1/2l behind Pipers Piping (8-11) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-52 (6) pol in Feb.
Danish Art (IRE) 9-1 (9-0) In touch, ridden well over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 5th of 13, 7l behind Why Nee Amy (8-5) at Beverley 1m app stks (6) gf in Sep.
Pretty Orchid 28-1 (8-7) Soon outpaced towards rear, struggling final 3f, 6th of 7, 21l behind Flores Sea (8-12) at Southwell 7f sell stks (6) fbs in Feb.
Sirjosh 7-1 (8-11) Held up towards rear, headway to chase leaders well over 1f out, soon ridden and kept on, 3rd of 11, 2 1/2l behind Obe Brave (8-9) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-52 (6) pol in Feb.
Bold Diva 25-1 (9-3) Soon mid-division, chased leaders over 2f out, every chance inside final furlong, kept on towards finish, just held, 2nd of 11, hd behind Mountain Pass (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-50 (7) pol.
Union Jack Jackson (IRE) 16-1 (8-7) Mid-division, pushed along 3f out, soon struggling, 8th of 11, 19l behind Mister Jingles (8-6) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-50 (7) pol in Oct.
Royal Crest 33-1 (8-12) Tracked leading trio, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 9th of 13, 17l behind Pendragon (9-0) at Southwell 1m hcp (0-55) (6) fbs in Feb.
Border Fox 33-1 (9-3) Led and soon clear, headed approaching 4f out, soon weakened and tailed off, 9th of 10, 47l behind Gamesters Lady (9-0) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-50 (7) pol in Feb.
Scruffy Skip (IRE) 25-1 (8-11) In touch until hard ridden and weakened over 2f out, 13th of 15, 15l behind Another Try (9-5) at Yarmouth 6f hcp 0-60 (6) gf in Oct.
Mackintosh (IRE) 7-2 (8-5) Held up in rear, headway on inside when short of room over 4f out to go 3rd, short of room and hampered over 3f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, just held on to 2nd, 2nd of 7, 1l behind Magic Haze (9-0) at Southwell 1m app hcp (0-58) (6) fbs in Feb.
