held up in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, stayed on, headed near finish
tracked leader, led over 2f out, headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
tracked leaders, switched left over 1f out, stayed on to lead towards finish
led, ridden over 3f out, headed over 2f out, soon weakened
pulled hard in rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression
STATESIDE is less exposed than many of her rivals and she is fancied to defy a 7lb rise in the weights for her recent Ayr success. One of a host of Richard Fahey winners recently, the selection got off the mark at the seventh time of asking. She won well last time and she might be getting the hang of things so a 7lb higher mark looks negotiable. Ifatfirst returns from his winter break and he has a record of running well fresh in the past and if he handles this forecast quicker ground then he should go close. Tommy Tobougg needs to improve, especially as he is a couple of pounds out of the weights, so of more interest may be Patavium, a former course and distance winner who has not been seen on the flat for a while. Any market move for the 10-race maiden Applaude could be worth listening to, although it could be pointed out that he has been a beaten favourite before. There seems little chance of him starting favourite here as it is Stateside who is taken to justify the likely short odds about a victory for her.
Wee Charlie Castle (IRE) 10-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders, led over 3f out, headed over 2f out, driven and edged right 1f out, soon weakened, 5th of 9, 5l behind Dance The Star (9-4) at Kempton 1m 4f app hcap (4) pol in Oct.
Applaude 12-1 (8-10) Held up in touch, ridden well over 1f out, soon weakened, 7th of 9, 9l behind Sirvino (9-8) at Ayr 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in May.
Ifatfirst (IRE) 14-1 (8-9) Tracked leader, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 7th of 12, 12l behind Grandad Bill (8-7) at Musselburgh 1m 4f hcap (4) gs in Oct.
Patavian (IRE) 4-1 (9-7) Prominent, ridden along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 11, 8l behind Ellies Faith (8-6) at Beverley 1m 4f 3yo sll hcp (6) gd in Jul '07.
Tommy Tobougg 9-1 (8-8) Chased leader until over 2f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out, 11th of 12, 10l behind Stateside (8-4) at Ayr 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) gd in May.
Stateside (CAN) 5-1 (8-4) Tracked leaders, pushed along 3f out, led 2f out, stayed on well, won at Ayr 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) gd in May beating Rain Stops Play (8-7) by 3 1/2l, 12 ran.