held up, headway approaching 3 out, lost place 2 out, stayed on approaching last
in touch, chased winner 2 out, soon ridden, lost 2nd near finish
held up, mistake 5th, headway approaching 2 out, weakened well before last
in touch, ridden and not fluent 2 out, stayed on same pace
in touch until 3 out
sharply away, made all, soon well clear, unchallenged
mid-division, headway 2 out, stayed on, never dangerous
in touch, headway 3 out, no extra flat
chased clear winner, ridden and lost 2nd 2 out, weakened approaching last
mid-division, headway after 7th, weakened 2 out
held up, weakened before 3 out
not always fluent, always behind
held up in rear, ridden 9th, soon no danger
held up in touch, ridden approaching 2 out, weakened approaching last
took keen hold in rear, always behind
held up in rear, headway 2 out, soon ridden, stayed on to go 2nd near finish, no chance with winner
A number of these can be expected to at least win a race before the end of the season and the likes of Emotional Moment, Red Ruffles and Hautclan can be placed to good effect in due course. However, with seven of the seventeen entries coming from the Martin Pipe yard, it is safe to assume the champion trainer has a very good handle on the race, with Team Tassel looking the pick and getting our vote. The selection has won both his previous starts with a fair amount of style - brushing aside challenges from the likes of The Dark Lord and Red Ruffles, who both re-oppose on better terms this afternoon. However, even at the risk of pointing out the understatement of the year, Pipe has a knack of producing horses that are open to acres of improvement and we fancy that Team Tassel has the class to cope with the reversal at the weights today. The Dark Lord, who himself has matured in leaps and bounds since being put in his place by the selection in February, poses a significant threat here. However, like many of the rest, he lacks the scope held by our hope and may have to settle for second best today. A handful of the rest are also worth a mention for future reference, including: Covent Garden, who has plenty of ability but makes his first start for just over a year and is probably best watched. Rosemauve and Penny Pictures arrive here on the back of convincing performances and are entitled to plenty of respect in their own right. Nevertheless, it is their stablemate Team Tassel that creates the best impression on paper and he looks the best bet out of the Pipe sextet and the rest.
