in touch, effort on outside and hard ridden 2f out, drive to lead near finish, caught last stride
always behind
pulled hard and always towards rear
behind, headway on outside when not much room 2f out, kept on under pressure
held up towards rear, no real headway final 2f
led for 1f, settled in touch, weakened over 2f out
always behind
in touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
led after 2f, headed halfway, tracked leader to 2f out, stayed on same pace
tracked leaders, led halfway, ridden and kept on under pressure final furlong, caught near finish
led after 1f to 8f out, stayed handy until weakened 2f out
towards rear, shaken up in midfield over 2f out, never dangerous after
towards rear under pressure 4f out, kept on final 2f, never dangerous
tracked leader, pushed along 4f out, went 2nd 2f out, switched left 1f out, strong run inside final furlong, led post
behind, some headway over 1f out, no danger
held up, effort on outer and driven 2f out, one pace and no impression over 1f out
in touch until weakened over 2f out
A difficult race on which to take a strong view but, having shortlisted South O' The Border, Hawridge King, Oakley Absolute, Carpet Ride and Mickehaha, we will side with South O' The Border. Raised four pounds for his Newmarket win, South O' The Border still looks competitive and Terry Mills' gelding, only just beaten here over 12 furlongs in April, looks set to go well. Hawridge King ran his best race yet when third over a mile here last time and, if improving at today's longer trip, should go well, but Nanton has yet to convert his winning all-weather form to Turf. Oakley Absolute has been holding his form well since winning at Nottingham and is respected. He is also still weighted to get the better of Carpet Ride based on their Goodwood runs, although they have a furlong shorter to travel today. With his stable in good heart, Irish Ballad might have more to come, and Mickehaha left previous form well behind when scoring at Lingfield last time. A repeat of that puts him on the premises. Ushindi should now improve at today's trip now she has a rating, while Gallego comes here seeking a fourth straight win but he has a bit to prove on Turf, while, of the others, Thornby Mandate made late headway last time and might have more to come and Dinner Date made some eyecatching late headway at Nottingham last time and is another to consider but, overall, we are happy to side with South O' The Border.
Nanton (USA) 50-1 (8-4) Towards rear, closed on leaders over 2f out, no impression over 1f out, soon one pace, 5th of 9, 8l behind Profit's Reality (9-2) at Sandown 1m 2f 3yo hcp (3) gf.
Suivez Moi (IRE) 11-8fav (9-0) In touch, ridden 3f out, no impression, 4th of 11, 6l behind Linda's Colin (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 1f 2yo mdn aut (F4) pol in Dec.
Hawridge King 13-2 (9-0) Tracked leaders, effort to chase winner over 1f out, edged left and kept on under pressure final furlong, lost 2nd last stride, 3rd of 14, nk behind Chapter (9-3) at Windsor 1m 3yo hcp (5) gf in May.
