held up, always in rear
held up mid-division, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, rider dropped whip 2f out, kept on one pace
slowly into stride, held up, headway and hampered well over 3f out, ridden to chase leders over 2f out, switched right and stayed on inside final furlong
chased leader, led over 4f out, until headed over 1f out, stayed on
in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, hung right inside final furlong
always in rear
pulled hard, headway 8f out, reminders 5f out, outpaced 3f out
soon led, headed over 4f out, remained close up, ridden and weakend final furlong
pulled hard, close up, ridden and hung left over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
close up 8f out
held up towards rear, never dangerous
always in rear
Josear has winning form on the all-weather this winter but the Stuart Williams-trained colt has been running at a lower level than this and a chance is taken with Sovereign Spirit, who is preferred to Snookered Again. The last mentioned is trained by Mick Easterby who has his string in better form now but the son of Lujain is not certain to stay this trip and Sovereign Spirit makes more appeal. Walter Swinburn's gelding has had the three runs necessary for a handicap mark and, with plenty of improvement to come for the step up in trip being out of a half-sister to Derby winner Oath, the son of Desert Prince looks worth chancing on his reappearance. Lack of Fibresand form is of concern for the selection but the opposition looks to be distinctly moderate. The Willie Jarvis-trained Summer Charm won a poor auction maiden over a mile here in December but subsequent form and her pedigree gives little cause for optimism over today's longer trip. Alan Swinbank's Danceinthevalley was well held in a maiden over this distance in February and of more interest may be Richard Fahey's Andy Mal, who showed promise in three starts as a juvenile and now makes his handicap debut over a trip that may bring about improvement. It will be a surprise if Sovereign Spirit does not step up on previous efforts now that he tackles a distance in excess of a mile for the first time though and he gets what can only be a tentative vote.
Snookered Again 20-1 Chased leaders, effort over 2f out, no impression, 8th of 20, 5l behind Caitlin at Redcar 7f 2yo hcp 0-75 (E3) gf in Sept.
Sovereign Spirit (IRE) 25-1 Slowly into stride, held up and keen, ridden over 2f out, no impression, 6th of 8, 12l behind Little Miss Gracie at Pontefract 1m 2yo mdn (D2) frm in Sept.
Danceinthevalley (IRE) 33-1 Dwelt, pulled hard in rear, not much room over 1f out, never nearer, 7th of 13, 7l behind Tromp at Lingfield 1m 2f mdn stk (D3) pol in Feb.
Mahmjra 33-1 Carried right start, in touch, weakened over 2f out, 9th of 15, 20l behind Sirce at Warwick 1m 3f 3yo hcp gs in Mar.
Stolen 66-1 Behind, no chance final 2f, 8th of 12, 16l behind Wotchalike at Bath 1m 2yo mdn (D3) sft in Oct.
Josear 9-4fav Soon tracking leaders, every chance 2f out, hampered and switched right inside final furlong, ran on, 4th of 13, 1 1/2l behind Fortunes Favourite at W'hampton 1m 1f stk pol in Mar.
Andy Mal 20-1 Dwelt and towards rear, never dangerous, 8th of 11, 14l behind Chantaco at Thirsk 7f 2yo mdn aut (E3) gf in Sept.
Midnight In Moscow (IRE) 12-1 Prominent on inside, chased leader 2f out to just inside final furlong, weakened, 7th of 11, 2 1/2l behind Gurrun at Lingfield 1m 3yo hcp (F4) pol in Jan.
