chased leaders, hard ridden over 1f out, kept on under pressure inside final furlong but never able to challenge
chased leader until well over 2f out, stayed prominent, pushed along 2f out, driven and weakened over 1f out
took keen hold early, tracked leaders, went 2nd inside final 3f, driven to challenge over 1f out, led final 150 yards, kept on well under pressure
steadied start and held up in touch, headway towards outside 2f out, ridden and edged right over 1f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
in touch on outside, pushed along 3f out, weakened 2f out
led near stands rail, pushed along over 2f out, soon edging right and driven, headed final 150 yards, kept on
MONAADEMA is lightly raced and sets a decent standard here, and if there's further improvement she could take this, although strong challenges are expected from Purus and Hobson. William Haggas' filly has been off the track since losing her maiden tag at the second time of asking at Warwick last summer. That race has produced a couple of other winners, as has her debut outing when she finished runner up. The market may give us some clues as to how she's trained on as she prepares for her handicap debut. Hobson's had a decent time of late, with a win and a couple of places in his last four runs. Last year he was poor, but he's showing the right attitude again for Eve Johnson Houghton. He's got plenty in hand here with top-weight Purus, who was unlucky to finish second last time out and who's still racing well below his previous winning mark. It looks competitive, but our preference is for Monaadema.
Purus (IRE) 14-1 (8-13) Held up mid-division, headway when badly hampered and hit rail over 1f out, rallied inside final furlong, ran on to take 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 16, 1/2l behind Oceana Blue (8-12) at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in May.
Bere Davis (FR) 8-1 (8-9) Tracked leader, led halfway, ridden and headed when edged left 2f out, no impression final furlong, 7th of 11, 4l behind Sunnyside Tom (8-10) at Carlisle 1m hcp 0-80 (4) gf in May.
Monaadema (IRE) 8-13fav (8-12) Always prominent, led over 1f out, soon edged right, ran on well, readily, won at Warwick 7f mdn auc stks (5) fm in Jun '08 beating Rondeau (9-3) by 4 1/2l, 10 ran.
Compton's Eleven 33-1 (9-0) Held up in rear, not clear run on rails 2f out, switched left 1f out, short of room entering final furlong and snatched up, not recover, 8th of 11, 3 1/2l behind Lodi (9-3) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in May.
Tuxedo 10-1 (10-0) Mid-division, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 9th of 11, 9l behind Shaded Edge (10-0) at Lingfield 7f (5) gf in May.
Hobson 9-4fav (9-3) Tracked leader, led 3f out, ridden over 1f out, headed well inside final furlong, 2nd of 8, nk behind Xpres Maite (9-4) at Yarmouth 7f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in May.
