slowly into stride, brief effort over 4f out
held up on outside, ridden 4f out, switched left over 2f out, plugged on
tracked leader, quickened up over 6f out, led well over 1f out, kept on
held up, lost place and behind from over 3f out
led and soon headed, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leaders and keen, ridden 3f out, weakened final furlong
held up, headway over 3f out, ridden to chase winner final furlong, no extra close home
soon led, quickened up over 6f out, ridden when headed over 1f out, one pace
Withdrawn
Withdrawn
Withdrawn
In the opener, Ashmollian is selected ahead of Always Baileys, My Legal Eagle and Smart John. Smart John certainly holds claims based on his 2005 form, although he has been lightly-raced of late, and Master Wells also holds good claims based on his best 2005 form. Kuster isn't as good as he was but he can still compete as this level, while Always Baileys can fare better today if ridden with more restraint than at Warwick last time. Ashmollian caught the eye at Newbury last time and a good run could well ensue tonight, while My Legal Eagle would hold a good shout if managing to replicate his Leicester second in May, which came on soft going in a similar event to tonight's. Finally, Go Free holds a good shout based on his best all-weather form, although he lacks soft-ground form, and you can't entirely rule out the currently-out-of-form Padre Nostro based on his course and distance win from a ten-pounds lower mark last year. Once again, though, for the selection, we return to Ashmollian.
