broke well, made all, challenged from well over 1f out, held on gamely under pressure
chased winner, driven to challenge over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
chased leaders, ridden halfway, effort over 2f out, soon lost place
tracked leaders, every chance inside final furlong, no extra close home
behind, soon outpaced, never dangerous
in touch, lost place over 3f out
reared start and very slowly away, soon detached, never dangerous
slowly into stride, mid div, ridden over 2f out, headway to chase leaders approaching final furlong, kept on
raced keenly in touch, under pressure over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
mid-division, headway over 2f out, soon chasing leaders and hard ridden, no extra inside final furlong
held up mid-division, pushed along halfway, headway over 1f out, never able to challenge
Nonrunner
The Magic Of Rio is progressive but her draw is not ideal so we will take a chance on COURT APPROVAL ahead of Klynch and Gone Hunting. Plenty of well-thought of individuals here, with one rated in the 90's and five in the 80's, however this may be a suggestion that the handicapping is becoming more stringent. Court Approval won well at the track two runs back and ran well in handicap company last time. Well-drawn today, he has a bit to find at the weights as he tries six furlongs once again, however his pedigree suggests that it shouldn't be a problem. It's hard to really say 'dropping in class' when referring to horses in this grade for the first time as it is as good as many a handicap and is only a claimer in name. The Magic Of Rio scraped home last time from a good draw and she has more on her plate on that front today so despite being well-treated at the weights she is taken on. Mythical Blue is fancied to run better than on soft ground last time, Klynch is not straight-forward but he has some good form this year including in Group company, whilst Desert Falls is a course and distance winner but joint top-weight makes life tough. Gone Hunting won well in a weaker claimer last time, whilst Leftontheshelf has to prove she stays six furlongs and so it is Court Approval who receives our vote.
Desert Falls 10-1 (9-3) Broke well, soon 2 lengths clear, made all, ridden and edged right over 1f out, stayed on, won at Great Leighs 6f 2yo mdn (4) pol beating Servoca (9-3) by 1 1/2l, 11 ran.
Klynch 40-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, ridden halfway, weakened 2f out, 11th of 16, 13l behind Nasri (8-10) at Newbury 6f 2yo hcp (2) gd.
Court Approval (IRE) 7-1 (9-10) Close up, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, always held inside final furlong, 2nd of 10, 3/4l behind Lesley's Choice (9-7) at Sandown 5f 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Gone Hunting 7-2 (8-9) Chased leaders, led inside final furlong, ran on, won at W'hampton 6f 2yo clm (5) pol beating Night Seed (8-10) by 2l, 9 ran.
Duke of Aquitaine (USA) 12-1 (9-3) Always towards rear, 11th of 13, 14l behind Red Reef (8-8) at Salisbury 1m 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Aug.
Home Before Dark 20-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, ridden halfway, soon weakened, 7th of 13, 13l behind Spiritofthewest (9-3) at Beverley 5f 2yo mdn (5) sft.
Mythical Blue (IRE) 11-4fav (8-6) Tracked leaders until weakened final furlong, last of 8, 8l behind Cerito (9-0) at Musselburgh 5f 2yo hcp 0-90 (3) sft.
Trigger McCann 33-1 (8-9) In touch, ridden over 2f out, no progress and weakened over 1f out, 7th of 18, 7l behind Measurement (8-12) at Salisbury 6f 2yo mdn auc (5) gf in Jun.
Courageous Nature (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Behind, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, not reach leaders, 6th of 12, 3 1/2l behind Cool Art (9-7) at Lingfield 6f 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Leftontheshelf (IRE) 7-2 (8-5) Led, ridden and headed approaching final furlong, one pace, 3rd of 6, 4l behind Triple Aspect (9-4) at Bath 6f nov stk (4) gd in Aug.
The Magic of Rio 7-1 (9-7) Chased leader, hard ridden to challenge over 1f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong, all out, won at Great Leighs 5f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Aug beating Red Cell (8-0) by a shd, 10 ran.
Turn To Dreams 4-1 (8-7) Chased leaders on rail, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 6th of 8, 5l behind Key To Love (9-7) at Folkestone 5f hcp 0-65 (6) gs.
Zaruschka 66-1 (8-9) Steadied start, in touch and keen, weakened over 1f out, last of 8, 16l behind Liberation (9-3) at Brighton 7f 2yo mdn (5) sft.