dwelt, towards rear stand side, pushed along and headway halfway, no extra final furlong
towards rear stand side, never dangerous
towards rear far side, never dangerous
chased leaders stand side, effort 2f out, kept on one pace final furlong
chased leaders stand side, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
tracked leaders stand side, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, stayed on well to lead inside final furlong
in touch to halfway far side
mid-divsion stand side, ridden over 2f out one pace,under pressure
chased leaders far side, effort over 1f out, kept on one pace final furlong
led far side, ridden over 2f out, headed and no extra inside final furlong
dwelt, behind far side, headway 2f out, stayed on well to lead group inside final furlong
chased leaders stand side, ridden over 2f out, kept on one pace final furlong
towards rear far side, never dangerous
led stand side, ridden 2f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on
in touch stand side, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
towards rear stand side, never dangerous
mid-divion far side, weakened 2f out
in touch far side, ridden halfway, soon weakened
towards rear stand side, never dangerous
with leader far side, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
The superbly competitive and valuable Portland Handicap has attracted a field of 22, many of them coming here in confident mood. This is the 139th running of the contest, the race having first been run in 1855. During this time there have been 28 winning favourites. Recent history tells us that horses that win or are place in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood and then race at Doncaster, tend to run well in the race. Another positive factor is good recent form. Taking into account the stall stats since 1990, then horses drawn from 11-22 fare better than those drawn low. Drawing all of this information together then, and the Stewards Cup third, Colonel Cotton, who is drawn 14, and for which Michael Kinane has been booked, gets our vote. Other factors you might want to consider are that Halmahera won the race last year, Fantasy Believer, a course winner, was pulled out of an engagement at Haydock last week because the going was considered to be too fast. Smart Predator comes here in good heart and is also a course winner, as are Rudi's Pet and Indian Spark. We could go on, but it will still bring us back to the Neville Callaghan-trained Colonel Cotton in a typically-competitive race.