held up mid-division, headway from over 2f out, ridden and every chance over 1f out, stayed on same pace
slowly into stride, in rear, wide and headway over 1f out, soon ridden, stayed on to go 2nd towards finish
close up, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
went right start, held up, smooth headway over 2f out, ridden to lead 1f out, ran on
soon led, ridden over 2f out, headed 1f out, soon weakened
always towards rear
bumped start, tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, no impression until stayed on towards finish
tracked leader, ridden and every chance over 1f out, weakened final furlong
A competitive enough heat here on paper, though OGRE could make a mockery of that, while King's Colour and Advertise are among the dangers. The David Evans-trained selection romped away with a 10f apprentice handicap here last week and therefore escapes a penalty. The drop back to 7f won't be a problem as she won over course and distance as recently as July and as she clearly loves it here we will give her the confident nomination. King's Colour is 7lbs higher than when the comfortable winner of a Goodwood handicap over this trip last month and has to be given plenty of respect, though he does have to prove he will handle this switchback track and looks worth taking on. Andrew Balding's Advertise has put in his best two efforts so far at Warwick and remains on the same mark as when third there last time, so he may well find a couple too good at today's weights. Napoletano has gone well here on his last two starts for local trainer Simon Dow and the form of his last effort behind Violent Velocity looks very solid, so he should be thereabouts. Steel Blue is a light of former days and 6lbs higher than his most recent win, though he does enjoy it here and has two course wins to his name in the dim and distant past, both from much higher berths. Ken's Girl needs to put a poor run behind her and if she can then she is on a very competitive mark, but Ogre can scare them all off.
Lodi (IRE) 33-1 (9-2) Slowly into stride, mid-division, not clear run, switched left well over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, 3rd of 14, 1 3/4l behind Brunelleschi (8-9) at Newmarket 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Aug.
Ogre (USA) 4-1 (9-9) Made all, soon clear, ridden over 2f out, stayed on well final furlong, won at Epsom Downs 1m 2f app hcp 0-75 (5) gs beating Free Tussy (9-4) by 2 1/2l, 7 ran.
Purus (IRE) 10-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride, in rear, outpaced halfway, never nearer, 6th of 9, 3 1/2l behind Violent Velocity (8-13) at Epsom Downs 7f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Aug.
King's Colour 15-2 (9-5) Switched right start and held up in rear, steady headway on outside over 2f out, quickened to lead approaching final 1f, soon clear, readily, won at Goodwood 7f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Aug beating Annes Rocket (8-10) by 3 1/2l, 19 ran.
Ken's Girl 8-1 (8-12) Chased leader centre, lost place 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace from over 1f out, 7th of 9, 4l behind Dig Deep (8-10) at Chepstow 7f hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Aug.
Compton's Eleven 16-1 (9-7) Mid-division, pushed along on outer over 2f out, kept on under pressure inside final furlong, 6th of 19, 4l behind King's Colour (9-5) at Goodwood 7f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Aug.
Advertise 4-1 (9-1) Chased leader, kept on final furlong, 2nd of 6, 3l behind Iasia (9-7) at Warwick 7f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Jul.
Steel Blue 11-2 (8-2) Towards rear, effort over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 4th of 11, 6l behind Sea Salt (8-6) at Thirsk 6f hcp 0-70 (5) sft.
Napoletano (GER) 9-2 (8-12) Tracked leader over 3f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, edged right and headed towards finish, 3rd of 9, 1l behind Violent Velocity (8-13) at Epsom Downs 7f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Aug.
