held up in touch, headway under pressure 2f out, stayed on to lead inside final furlong, kept on
missed break, towards rear, never dangerous
tracked leaders, ridden to challenge over 2f out, until one pace inside final furlong
towards rear, pushed along 3f out, ridden and no impression final 2f
tracked leader, ridden to lead over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, one pace under pressure
mid-division, pushed along 3f out, soon ridden and no impression
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, no extra final furlong
In a competitive fillies handicap, Hula Ballew is just fancied to score her second course and distance victory of the season, with Blonde On Blonde and Shotley Dancer the biggest dangers. The latter ran well at a big price when third in a competitive handicap at Redcar last month, but showed that to be no fluke when a good second at Haydock last time and seems sure to play a part in the finish here. Blonde On Blonde was scoring for the first time on turf when she landed a claimer here over a furlong shorter than today's trip, and while Nick Littmoden's filly steps up in class here, she has surprisingly dropped in the weights so clearly has to be considered. However, we just side with Hula Ballew, who won a course and distance handicap on softish ground two starts ago, before finishing third in a big field at Pontefract on her latest start. She has actually dropped a pound in the weights since that last start, and back on a course she clearly likes, we fancy her to score again.
