soon outpaced, ridden and kept on final furlong, never nearer
soon pushed along, not much room over 4f out, outpaced, never a factor
led over 4f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, kept on one pace
close up, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on
soon pushed along in rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, weakened final furlong
led, headed over 4f out, chased leader after, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
mid-division, ridden and weakened halfway
slowly into stride, mid-division, ridden halfway, soon weakened
slowly into stride, outpaced over 4f out, never dangerous
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, headway to go 4th over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
in touch until halfway
mid-division, ridden and weakened over 2f out
Henry Candy doesn¿t send too many runners to Southwell and so we will give the vote to his lightly raced filly Nightstrike, with Elegant Times, Crafty Fox and Xpress Maite put forward as the main dangers. The selection has had three runs to qualify for handicaps, the last being a decent third on the all-weather at Wolverhampton. Unlike most of these she open to plenty of improvement and she looks the best option. Elegant Times hit winning form at Wolverhampton last time, comfortably beating the 72 rated And I. She has struggled in handicaps in the past but may be on the upgrade. Crafty Fox displayed vastly improved form in a better race at Newmarket last time and could go close if handling this surface. Meanwhile Xpress Maite was an impressive winner at Wolverhampton last time and should be in the shake up despite a six pound penalty. All in all a very tricky contest but Nightstrike could be the best option.
The City Kid (IRE) 15-2 (8-13) Led, ridden, headed over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 9, 8l behind Orange Dancer (8-11) at Chepstow 6f 3yo fll hcp (5) sft in May.
Elegant Times (IRE) 11-2 (8-10) Prominent, ridden to lead well over 1f out, ran on, won at W'hampton 6f mdn stk (5) pol in Jun beating And I (8-9) by 1l, 9 ran.
Xpres Maite 20-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong, won at W'hampton 6f 3yo hcp (6) pol beating Hoh Wotanite (9-3) by 1l, 13 ran.
Bitter Chill 14-1 (9-4) Held up, never troubled leaders, last of 11, 26l behind Starship (9-7) at Newmarket 1m 3yo hcp (5) gf in Jun.
Nightstrike (IRE) 12-1 (8-9) Prominent, ridden and every chance over 1f out, not quicken inside final furlong, 3rd of 10, 3l behind Greek Renaissance (9-0) at W'hampton 6f mdn stk (5) pol in Jun.
Our Mary (IRE) 25-1 (8-8) Led, headed over 4f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened 2f out, last of 11, 29l behind Shifty (9-4) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs.
Crafty Fox 16-1 (7-13) Prominent, led over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on, 3rd of 9, 2l behind Savernake Blue (9-0) at Newmarket 6f 3yo hcp (4) frm.
George The Second 9-2jt-fav (9-1) With leader, ridden 2f out, weakened quickly final furlong, 13th of 14, 9l behind Mataram (9-4) at Lingfield 7f 3yo hcp (6) pol in Jun.
