tailed off, mid-division, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened
held up last, ridden 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
mid-division, some headway 3 out, ridden 2 out, weakened last
made all, clear 3rd, ridden and quicken 2 out, hit last, driven out
held up towards rear, ridden approaching 3 out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, good headway 7th, ridden after 3 out, not quicken from 2 out
prominent, outpaced 7th, ridden 3 out, stayed on one pace from 2 out
held up in touch, headway 7th, chased winner 2 out, staying on when rider lost whip inside final furlong, no extra
tracked leader, ridden 7th, soon weakened
Our shortlist here consists of Young Dancer, Makulu, Who Cares Wins, Rakassa and, possibly, Central Committee, with the vote going to Makulu. The selection just shades things by virtue of the fact that he is lightly-raced and ought to be improving and, having finished a fair third to Claude Greengrass at Exeter last time on his handicap debut, can remain competitive today. Who Cares Wins rates an obvious danger as he is only two pounds above a winning mark, although that success came in October 2003, but should be all the better for a recent fitness run and now having Tony McCoy booked. Young Dancer could be open to improvement as he too is lightly-raced, Rakassa has at least shown displayed the ability to win and she too should be fitter for her recent run, while Central Committee won from an eight-pound higher mark than today in February 2003 and put in a fair run last time, when she was beaten by Bekstar, who runs earlier on today's card. Watch for how that form works out then but, for us, the vote goes to Makulu.
