held up in rear, weakened over 2f out
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, went 2nd and hung left over 1f out, kept on and held towards finish
made all, ridden over 2f out driven out
chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened final furlong
chased winner, ridden over 2f out, not much room over 1f out, soon weakened
Counterclaim gets a narrow vote over Snowy Indian, Queen's Speech and Fandangerina, with Jollyhockeysticks and Sweet Hope others to consider. This looks a decent little fillies' maiden by midweek all-weather standards, and all of those mentioned will no doubt be expected to visit the winner's enclosure in time. On this occasion we shall nominate Counterclaim as the answer though. The Godolphin inmate, a 250,000gns yearling, showed that she could act on this surface when second here 11-days ago, and with a longer trip to help, she is taken to make experience count. Snowy Indian was sent off as favourite at Haydock last month, but floundered on the soft ground, and now tries the Polytrack. With Jamie Spencer on board she will be expected to improve, and should not be left out of calculations. Queen's Speech was a relatively cheap purchase, but is related to five winners, while both Sweet Hope and Fandangerina can boast a fair amount of experience. In truth it is difficult to pinpoint which one will find the most improvement here, but the pin comes down on Counterclaim.
Bewdley 25-1 (8-12) Held up in touch, ridden 3f out, weakened over 2f out, last of 10, 17l behind Loyal Knight (9-3) at W'hampton 7f 2yo mdn auc (6) pol in Oct.
Counterclaim 9-2 (8-12) Tracked leader, ridden to chase winner 1f out, outpaced final furlong, 2nd of 12, 2l behind Staying On (9-3) at W'hampton 7f 2yo mdn (5) pol in Oct.
Daisy Nook 66-1 (8-12) Held up towards rear, ridden over 3f out, soon hung right, stayed on past decent horses, 6th of 16, 16l behind Huzzah (9-3) at Salisbury 1m 2yo mdn (4) gs in Oct.
Fandangerina 15-2 (9-3) Held up in touch, ridden to chase winner well inside final furlong, ran on and gaining, just failed, 2nd of 15, shd behind Relinquished (9-1) at Brighton 7f 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.
Queen's Speech (IRE) Medicean filly out of winning miler Jazan.
Snowy Indian 7-4fav (9-0) Held up in rear, headway over 2f out, never reached challengening position, 6th of 10, 8l behind Badalona (9-0) at Haydock 1m 2yo mdn fll (5) sft in Sept.
Sweet Hope (USA) 8-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, hung right over 1f out, kept on one pace, 3rd of 12, 2 1/2l behind Whispered Dreams (8-12) at Lingfield 7f 2yo mdn (5) pol in Oct.
Chica Guapa (IRE) 100-1 (8-7) Hampered start, chased leaders, lost pace over 2f out, weakened 1f out, 10th of 13, 14l behind Writingonthewall (9-3) at Thirsk 6f 2yo mdn auc (6) gf in Sept.
Jollyhockeysticks 12-1 (8-12) Held up in touch, ridden 3f out, led entering final furlong, headed near finish, 3rd of 14, nk behind Ragamuffin Man (9-3) at Bath 1m 2yo mdn (5) gd in Oct.
