held up in touch, pushed along 2f out, ran on inside final furlong, never dangerous
made all, ridden along and quickened well over 1f out, kept on well final furlong
held up in rear, headway approaching final furlong, no extra inside final furlong
in touch, ridden 3f out, weakened over 2f out
in touch, ridden approaching 2f out, weakened final furlong
tracked winner, ridden 2f out, challenged from 1f out, always held
We will take another chance on Celtique here, with her main dangers reckoned to be Zeeba, Swindon, Incense and Five Fields. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained selection has, overall, proven a little disappointing. That said, she has earned a rating in the low 70s, which gives her a fair enough chance of going close today. Lost Soldier Three's sister, Zeeba, showed plenty of promise on her debut and is respected, although it is slightly surprising to see her dropped back in trip from that run. On her first run since November 2004, Swindon ran well to be third at Chepstow last time and the drop in trip today could well suit. It will be interesting to see how the Unfuwain filly, Incense, who has some form to her name, reacts to a step up in trip today, while John Gosden's Five Fields showed she was on the up when finishing third at Salisbury last time and she is granted respect. Finally, much as Youaremysunshine has shown little in two starts, she should improve for the step up in trip today. However, Celtique, who raced too freely in first-time headgear last time - and it is left off this time - will rarely get a better chance to win a race and, accordingly, she gets the vote.
Celtique 13-8fav (8-9) Keen, chased leader, led over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 5th of 8, 2 1/2l behind Ground Rules (9-0) at Warwick 1m 3yo mdn aut (6) gf.
Five Fields (USA) 8-1 (8-11) Led, ridden 2f out, headed 1f out, held when hampered inside final furlong, 3rd of 14, 5l behind Alvarita (8-11) at Salisbury 1m 3yo mdn fll (5) frm.
Zeeba (IRE) 20-1 (8-8) Ran in snatches, headway under pressure over 3f out, chased leading pair 2f out, went 2nd just inside final furlong, not reach winner, 2nd of 15, 3/4l behind Country Pursuit (8-13) at Lingfield 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol in Aug.