tracked leaders, switched left 2f out, soon ridden, stayed on well under pressure to lead well inside final furlong
soon last and niggled along, effort over 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
soon led, ridden inside final 2f, headed well inside final furlong
took keen hold in touch, headway 4f out, losing place when edged right and bumped well over 1f out, soon weakened
slowly into stride, held up in 5th, headway on far rail over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
led early, tracked leader until ridden and bumped slighly well over 1f out, soon beaten
Neither Killing Moon nor HIGH RESOLUTION could be described as banker material but they really should dominate; we opt for the latter's course form to the less exposed profile of the first-named. The preferred pair met in a mile handicap at Musselburgh last time, with High Resolution just over a length-and-a-half ahead of Killing Moon. Our pick is now 2lbs higher whilst Kevin Ryan's charge is a pound lower, so they should be closer together at the line, but High Resolution was keen out the back that day and did well to finish second, value for a bigger margin back to the third. He also showed when placed here on his previous run that this course holds no fears and that just gets him the vote. Furthermore Paul Hanagan is a strong jockey booking and he's tried in first-time blinkers, which may just prove the key to unlocking a bit of improvement that can hopefully see this 13-race maiden get off the mark. Killing Moon has had just the seven starts and has improved since stepping into handicap company, placing on all four tries. Positive tactics appeared to suit last time and he could be hard to pass. Lord's Seat has a mountain to climb to trouble the aforementioned pair on that Musselburgh run and ran poorly last time, Affordable needs a market check as a handicap debutant from a strong yard but hasn't shown any real promise and Hail Bold Chief may want a bit of give in the ground, so Damietta is perhaps best of the rest. Mark Johnston's filly started life in handicaps rated 85 following a seven furlong maiden win but is now down to 66 having proved to be disappointing. She did show more last time though and the drop back to a mile may help her, but perhaps not enough to trouble our selection High Resolution.
Killing Moon (USA) 9-4fav (9-6) Slowly into stride, headway to lead after 1f, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, unable to quicken, 3rd of 9, 1 1/2l behind Raleigh Quay (9-8) at Musselburgh 1m 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Damietta (USA) 14-1 (9-3) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon edged left and not pace of winner, lost place 100 yards out, no extra, lost 3rd near finish, 4th of 9, 5l behind Belle Noverre (9-3) at Hamilton 1m 1f fll hcp (5) gf.
Hail Bold Chief (USA) 25-1 (9-3) Mid-division, outpaced over 2f out, never on terms, 6th of 11, 10l behind Supreme Spirit (8-12) at Ripon 6f 3yo mdn (5) gd.
Affordable (IRE) 22-1 (8-11) Slowly into stride, in rear, ridden 3f out, never dangerous, 10th of 12, 27l behind Kingswinford (9-6) at Salisbury 7f clm stks (5) gd.
High Resolution 11-2 (8-8) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway when not clear run and switched left over 2f out, ridden and every chance inside final furlong, ran on, just held, 2nd of 9, nk behind Raleigh Quay (9-8) at Musselburgh 1m 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Lord's Seat 200-1 (8-7) Tracked winner until over 4f out, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 4th of 5, 28l behind Hacienda (8-7) at Hamilton 1m cond Stakes (3) gf.
