towards rear, soon ridden along, effort when not much room over 1f out, ran on final furlong to lead post
towards rear, never dangerous
led, driven over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
stumbled at start and was soon chasing leaders, effort over 2f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong
chased leaders, effort halfway, soon beaten
prominent, ridden along halfway, one pace final furlong
towards rear, switched right and headway over 1f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong, headed post
chased leaders to halfway
in touch, ridden along halfway, one pace until weakened inside final furlong
Although the weights here favour Firenza Bond we will side with the consistent Fire Up The Band to land the claimer. Alan Berry has rejuvenated the nine-year-old in half a dozen starts this season, though he has yet to win a race for his new handler. Even so, he doesn't seem to know how to run a bad race at present, this is his trip and the ground is fine for him, so we'll lean his way. Firenza Bond has a 7lb pull with the selection compared to if this were a handicap, but this c&d scorer has been on the slide for his past few runs and although he has c&d winning form we will wait for him to show some more spark before wading in. Colorus returns here from handicapping and should appreciate the drop in grade, though the ground looks to have gone against him. There are no going concerns for Guest Connections though, and Dandy Nicholls will know what is required to beat Fire Up The Band, so we'd expect his charge to go very well. Not a race to be dogmatic about but we'll take Fire Up The Band to call the tune.
Guest Connections 6-1 (9-7) Mid-division, ridden halfway, stayed on towards finish, 6th of 14, 3l behind Commander Wish (9-0) at Pontefract 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Firenza Bond 12-1 (8-13) Slowly into stride, effort over 2f, never troubled leaders, 6th of 7, 7l behind Know No Fear (8-8) at Catterick 5f 3yo hcp (4) gf in Jul.
Colorus (IRE) 11-2 (9-2) Prominent, ridden along halfway, weakened final furlong, 8th of 11, 8l behind Comptonspirit (9-7) at Pontefract 5f hcap (5) gf in Jul.
Fire Up The Band 3-1 (9-5) Prominent, led halfway, ridden over 1f out, headed and no extra inside final furong, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind Highland Warrior (9-5) at Musselburgh 5f sll (6) sft.
Throw The Dice 20-1 (8-7) Prominent, until ridden halfway and soon beaten, 10th of 11, 9l behind Mr Rooney (8-11) at Musselburgh 5f hcp 0-70 (5) gf in Jul.
Whozart (IRE) 10-1 (10-0) Prominent for 4f stands side, 13th of 18, 17l behind Ryedane (10-4) at Thirsk 6f ldy rds hcp (6) gd.
Head To Head (IRE) 16-1 (9-5) In touch, ridden and every chance over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 11, 18l behind Johnston's Glory (8-11) at Hamilton 5f mdn sll (6) gs in Jul.
Champagne Sue 66-1 (9-1) Prominent, ridden over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 7th of 10, 11l behind Mujahope (8-12) at Catterick 6f mdn aut stk (6) gf in Jul.
She's Our Beauty (IRE) 16-1 (9-9) Went right start, raced stand's side group, always behind, last of 12, 27l behind Conjecture (10-3) at Ayr 5f amt hcp (6) gs in Jul.