led to post, raced freely led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakening when slightly hampered final furlong
tracked leaders, challenged on outer over 2f out, soon one pace and no impression
tracked leader to 2f out, driven and one pace over 1f out
raced freely, tracked leaders, ridden to lead 2f out, driven and in command final furlong
held up, headway over 2f out, ridden to chase winner inside 2f, no impression final furlong
in touch, pushed along 4f out, ridden and upsides 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong
slowly into stride, held up, pushed along 3f out, stayed on same pace final 2f
behind, ridden halfway, soon struggling, tailed off final 3f
The shortlist here contains Bowled Out, A One, Polish Spirit and Premier Rouge, with the vote going to Bowled Out. The selection made big improvement last time when scoring decisively in a Yarmouth handicap over a mile on soft going. The downside is that she has yet to race this year but, given that she ought to have more improvement in her, could be worth taking a chance on. Polish Spirit holds the potential advantage, we feel, of coming into this race in very good heart and, even though he is rising in the weights as a consequence, he has less question marks about him than many of his opponents. One of these is A One, who managed to win from a ten-pound higher rating in a handicap last July although, as you can imagine, has been in-and-out since then. Given that he is lightly raced, Premier Rouge, who has shown promise, comes into the reckoning, while Taminoula and Smoothly Dies are entitled to each-way support. Finally, If Jakarmi could return to his very consistent form of last summer, he would be a danger, while Smoothly Does can be expected to run his race and Desert Hawk should appreciate the step up in trip this evening. Overall, though, unless the market vibe is not strong, we are happy to side with Bowled Out.
A One (IRE) 12-1 (11-2) Led to post, led and raced freely, headed over 1f out, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 9, 4 1/2l behind Scottish River (11-8) at Newbury 1m 2f ldy rds hcp (5) gf.
Polish Spirit 5-2fav (9-7) Chased leaders, led 6f out, ridden 2f out, headed and no extra inside final furlong, 2nd of 9, 1l behind Fabrian (9-1) at Nottingham 1m 2f app hcp (6) gd.
Premier Rouge 4-1 (9-7) Held up in rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on same pace from over 1f out, 4th of 12, 6l behind Blue Bajan (8-7) at Leicester 1m 4f stk 0-65 (5) gf.
Taminoula (IRE) 12-1 (9-6) In touch, ridden and effort over 2f out, not quicken, soon weakened, 9th of 16, 7l behind Habanero (10-0) at Windsor 1m 2f hcp (5) gf.
Bowled Out (GER) 25-1 (8-6) Hampered start, held up, headway over 2f out, ridden and led over 1f out, ran on, won at Yarmouth 1m 2yo hcp 0-75 (E3) sft in Nov beating Akraan (8-10) by 1 1/2l, 20 ran.
Jakarmi 12-1 (8-13) Mid-division, behind final 2f, 14th of 18, 20l behind Feed The Meter (9-2) at Windsor 1m 4f hcp (5) gf in May.
Smoothly Does It 4-1 (9-8) Mid-division, some headway 2f out, one pace from over 1f out, 4th of 11, 6l behind Freak Occurence (9-10) at Bath 1m 2f hcp (5) gd in May.
