slowly into stride, behind and soon pushed along, never on terms
held up, headway over 2f out, led 1f out, ran on well
with leaders, every chance well over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
raced far side, mid-division, outpaced final 2f
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, stayed on same pace
slowly into stride, always behind
raced far side, held up in mid-division, outpaced final 2f
held up in touch, headway under pressure over 1f out, edged left and ran on inside final furlong
chased leaders until ridden and weakened over 1f out
always prominent, led over 2f out, ridden and headed 1f out, not quicken inside final furlong
held up, pushed along over 2f out, weakened well over 1f out
in touch, ridden 2f out, kept on final furlong
with leaders, lost place after 2f, no danger after
We are going to take a chance in a very competitive opener by suggesting Absent Friends and Bond Boy against the field but any number of these, including Peruvian Chief, Whistler and Blackheath will also justifiably attract support. Absent Friends races from a mark of 86 today but has won from 84, back in June of last year. He is also now nine pounds lower in the weights than when a fair fifth here in March and is also 12 pounds better off with Whistler for the seven-and-a-half lengths he finished behind that horse at Sandown in July. As such, you can build a case for him, as you can with Bond Boy, even though he has not won since October 2002. However, that success was gained from a mark of 90 and he now races from 86. OK, to many, that might be a slightly tenuous way of looking at this race, but it is immensely open and and at least the pair are drawn middle to high, which could prove to be advantageous. However, with the likes of Peruvian Chief, who has won from his current mark, Whistler, who goes well here but is closely weighted with Blackheath and Maktavish based on their recent course and distance runs, but Devise, consistent though he has proven, has a bit to find on revised terms following a very good Sandown effort. There are others who will have support, including Ptarmigan Ridge, who is a course and distance scorer, has won from a marginally higher mark but was disappointing in that recent course and distance race when better was expected. As we say, it is very competitive and, of the pair we have mentioned, maybe Absent Friends can hold sway.
