close up, ridden halfway, weakened approaching final furlong
strongly into stride, headway and effort 2f out, weakened final furlong
close up, ridden halfway, no extra inside final furlong
led, ridden halfway, headed entering final furlong, kept on toward finish
A tricky race despite the small field, but if Birikina can put an abysmal run behind her then she could be good enougfh to regain the winning thread; she is just selected ahead of enough, while Swanky Lad and Clearly Tough also come into the reckoning. The latter is a debutante from the Ian Semple stable which is in the middle of a very good season and while not necessarily noted for turning out winners on their debuts, George Duffield is a decent booking and any market support for this one could be worth following. Swanky Lad is open to improvement, but would certainly have to fare better than when last of five at Ripon on his most recent start. On that occasion Birikina, who finished second, was nearly seven lengths in front and is now two pounds better off. Lizhar was well beaten in a seller last time and while probably better than that, she cannot be fancied with any great confidence here even on some of her earlier form. So it is probably worth forgiving Birikina that poor run when she finished last to Kinnaird over course and distance last time. Alan Berry's filly had earlier scored here on her debut, and a reproduction of that form would easily be good enough to land this.