slowly into stride, in rear, never a factor
mid-division, ridden over 1f out, never dangerous
slowly into stride, towards rear, soon pushed along, never a threat
with leader, led well over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, kept on well
tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong
led, headed well over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
Dandy Nicholls has had his string in good early season form and we'll give him a chance to continue that here with CLEAR ICE, who has the call, in preference to Avow and Moore's Goose in this claimer. The pick isn't the best treated by the framing of the contest but his recent runs at this level and his win in a handicap off a mark of 68 in December offer plenty of hope coming into this contest. Avow is best off at the weights and also has some solid form in plating class races. He scored in a seller at Lingfield three runs ago and his run behind Athwaab now looks that bit better. Moore's Goose is open to improvement and progressed from a poor debut here to win a seller at Southwell last time. There should be more to come so he rates as a danger. Flow Chart is the best horse in the race but has to concede weight to all while My Mandy wouldn't have to find a great deal on these terms to figure prominently. This is a competitive race for the grade but we side with stable form and Clear Ice.
Flow Chart (IRE) 8-1 (8-9) Held up in rear, headway under pressure over 2f out, soon outpaced, stayed on final furlong, never nearer, 4th of 8, 7l behind Lockantanks (8-11) at Lingfield 7f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Mar.
Petrocelli 7-1 (8-11) Soon towards rear, pushed along halfway, soon struggling, 6th of 8, 10l behind Maoi Chinn Tire (8-12) at Kempton 6f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Mar.
Revoltinthedesert 7-1 (8-4) Held up towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, no impression, 7th of 9, 19l behind Areeda (8-7) at Wolverhampton 7f mdn stks (5) pol in Feb.
Clear Ice (IRE) 11-2 (9-5) With leader, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 9, 23l behind Thaliwarru (9-0) at Leicester 6f 3yo sll (6) sft.
Avow (USA) 8-1 (8-8) Tracked winner, ridden when hampered over 1f out, kept on one pace, 3rd of 9, 2 3/4l behind Athwaab (8-9) at Kempton 6f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Mar.
Moors Gorse 10-1 (8-9) Chased leaders, kept on on to lead towards finish, won at Southwell 6f 3yo sell stks (6) fbs in Feb beating Flow Chart (9-5) by hd, 5 ran.
My Mandy (IRE) 11-2 (8-7) Raced wide towards rear, effort 2f out, kept on, never dangerous, 4th of 8, 4 1/2l behind Flaxen Lake (8-12) at Wolverhampton 5f 3yo sell stks (6) pol in Mar.
