held up, steady headway 5f out, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
made all, pushed clear 2f out, ridden and edged left over 1f out, unchallenged
prominent and keen, ridden and weakened quickly over 4f out
chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, one pace final 2f
held up, ridden over 4f out, some headway 2f out, never dangerous
chased winner for 3f, ridden 4f out, weakened well over 2f out
mid-division, headway 5f out, ridden 4f out, one pace final 2f
A race where most of them arrive as out of form individuals and we can narrow it down to Countykat, Cherished Number, Spark Up and Bell Beguine. The vote goes to Countykat, who has contested some decent races on turf, and significantly is proven over this trip, unlike a number of opponents. The Woodborough gelding has performed well at trips ranging from 7f to 10f, although he has a poor draw here, he will be staying on when others run out of petrol. He has also shown ability to handle ground on the slower side of good, which could prove vital here. Cherished Number receives 8lb from the selection, but has similar credentials to that one. A winner on both good to firm and good to soft over this trip, he is also drawn wide and although he is dropped in class here, his two most recent efforts were far from inspirational and he may have to settle for a place. Bella Beguine comes here after a decent effort to be a close second over 7f here last time out, but this mile looks like a bit too far for her to hang on, while the same may be said of Spark Up, who won here over that same trip last time out but whose stamina will be fully tested here. Therefore, we are happy to side with the three-year-old Countykat.
