pulled hard, tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, led over 1f out, soon edged left, clear inside final furlong, eased towards finish
behind, headway halfway, ridden and switched right over 1f out, kept on one pace
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, one pace final furlong
prominent, led over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, always behind
towards rear, headway halfway, ridden and hung left 3f out, soon outpaced, stayed on towards finish
In what looks to be a virtual match Aperitif has less negatives than River Nurey and gets the vote. River Nurey has solid claims on the best of his form but has yet to prove his effectiveness on ground this soft and there are concerns over the general form of Barry Hills's horses at present. The William Haggas-trained Aperitif should have little difficulty with the ground and but for a disappointing effort when 1/3 favourite last time would have been a confident choice. Despite that run he is still the one they have to beat. There is very little to recommend any of the other runners in the line up with Mount Cottage and Classic Lease probably the pick of them. While the testing conditions may be a leveller, it is hard to get a way from Aperitif who gets the vote.