soon led at steady pace, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, kept on
steadied start, held up, always in rear
in touch, ridden 2f out, no impression
chased leader until over 2f out
held up in rear, headway 3f out, ridden and stayed on to take 3rd final furlong
slowly into stride, mid-division, ridden and weakened over 2f out
Red Racketeer can step up on his seasonal reappearance to land the prize at the expense of Tender Falcon, Quizzene and Nordwind. Red Racketeer has only tried 12 furlongs once, at Ripon last year when he was narrowly beaten in the rain-softened ground, but on today's going he will have no problems staying. With the benefit of a run under his belt at Kempton 11 days ago, he can prove the answer under Frankie Dettori. Tender Falcon caused a shock when landing this race narrowly last year, and has not been out since turning out again here in June in the race won by Crow Wood. It will be a tremendous training feat if Ron Hodges has him ready to repeat the feat, and a bigger threat is likely to be Quizzene. He too lacks a recent outing though, and may well be stepped back up in trip as the season progresses. It is hard to fancy any of the rest strongly, and Red Racketeer can oblige, even with topweight.
Red Racketeer (USA) 9-2 (8-12) In touch, ridden over 2f out, slightly outpaced over 1f out, kept on again inside final furlong, not reach leaders, 6th of 16, 2l behind Kandidate (9-10) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-105 (2) pol.
Vengeance 10-1 (9-6) Raced in close 5th, pushed along over 3f out, one pace and no impression final 2f, 5th of 7, 4 1/2l behind Wunderwood (9-7) at Ascot 1m 2f stk (F) gf in Jul '04.
Nordwind (IRE) 16-1 (9-12) Towards rear, effort over 3f out, no impression, 8th of 10, 19l behind Ouninpohja (9-3) at Pontefract 1m 4f hcp (3) gf in Aug.
Tender Falcon 5-1 (8-9) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, no headway, one pace, 10th of 20, 13l behind Crow Wood (8-10) at Epsom 1m 4f hcp (2) gd in Jun.
Quizzene (USA) 8-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 10th of 13, 17l behind Baddam (8-7) at Newmarket 1m 7f hcp (3) gs in Aug.
Sporting Gesture 25-1 (9-12) In touch, pushed along over 6f out, no impression from over 2f out, 11th of 15, 19l behind Maneki Neko (8-7) at Catterick 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
Kalambari (IRE) 14-1 (8-12) Held up in rear, smooth headway over 4f out to go mid-division, ridden over 2f out, no impression, 5th of 16, 11l behind Clarinch Claymore (7-12) at Ayr 1m 5f hcp 0-95 (C) gs in Oct '02.