went left start, held up, ridden over 1f out, no impression
tracked leaders, ridden approaching final furlong, soon switched left, stayed on to take 2nd towards finish
held up in touch, led approaching final furlong, kept on well
chased leaders, led over 1f out, soon headed, no extra inside final furlong
led, headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
went left start, held up, never dangerous
with leader, ridden 2f out, weakened over 1f out
Not a huge amount of interest in this minor handicap where we will take a chance on BAHKOV to get the better of Northern Flyer and Diamond Daisy. The latter pair have both been in better form than the selection in recent times. Northern Flyer has made the frame in three of his last four stars, winning the other over 7f at Musselburgh, and is as consistent as connections could hope for given the grade in which he competes. He remains on the same mark as when just touched off at Catterick last time and will not be easy to beat. Diamond Daisy has not yet got her nose in front, but she is steadily slipping in the weights and this is her sort of trip and conditions, so her first win is not looking far away. Tom Dascombe has his runners in form and Bahkov may well be capable of better than we have seen so far. He did not run badly at all for seven furlongs of the mile handicap he ran in at Windsor last time, and he has since been dropped 3lbs. Ross Atkinson takes an extra 5lbs off his back, and with that in mind plus this stiff seven-and-a-half furlongs looking right up his street, we will take a chance on him. River Dee won a Yarmouth seller last year and gets this trip well. However, he is a little short on gears and so we will oppose him and the rest with Bahkov.
Liteup My World (USA) 16-1 (9-3) Pulled hard, held up in rear, ridden 2f out, no impression, 9th of 11, 12l behind Emirates Sports (9-3) at Great Leighs 6f 2yo mdn stks (5) pol in Nov.
Northern Flyer (GER) 11-4fav (8-4) Mid-division, headway on inside over 2f out, ridden to chase winner 1f out, up sides inside final furlong, just denied, 2nd of 12, hd behind Snow Bay (9-7) at Catterick 7f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Diamond Daisy (IRE) 4-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final f, no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 5, 2 1/2l behind Rising Kheleyf (9-7) at Carlisle 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
River Dee (IRE) 7-1 (8-2) Chased leaders, ridden and edged left over 2f out, beaten over 1f out, 4th of 8, 9l behind Celtic Change (9-12) at Haydock 1m hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Bahkov (IRE) 8-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 6th of 9, 8l behind Expensive Problem (9-9) at Windsor 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gf in Jun.
Two Turtle Doves (IRE) 10-1 (9-2) In touch on outside, lost place over 3f out, hung left final 2f, not troubled leaders after, 6th of 12, 9l behind Sarasota Sunshine (9-7) at Wolverhampton 6f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jun.
Melkatant 20-1 (8-4) Soon outpaced, behind, 7th of 8, 29l behind Goodison Glory (9-1) at Catterick 7f 2yo mdn aut (6) hvy in Nov.
