held up, headway 6f out, went 2nd over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, not quicken inside final furlong
made all, ridden over 1f out, stayed on gamely
slowly into stride, soon prominent, ridden over 3f out, edged left over 1f out, kept on one pace
slowly into stride, held up, ridden over 3f out, headway over 1f out, edged left and kept on inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, kept on inside final furlong
held up, headway over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, hung left over 1f out, not quicken inside final furlong
Most of the seven runners can be given some sort of a chance here, but we just take Charnock Bates One to lower the colours of Tartouche for the first time, with Fling and La Sylphide also in the reckoning. Tartouche would be a worthy favourite, having won three out of three so far, and although she has yet to race on a really soft surface, she handled yielding ground okay on her debut at Kempton. Although she is improving, a strict line of form through Windy Britain gives her a length or two to find with Fling here, and James Fanshawe's filly, a runner-up at Newmarket last time, would be a big threat if she goes on the ground. La Sylphide won this race last year, has been in fair form in 2004 and cannot be ruled out of a repeat despite a nine pounds higher mark today. Light Wind is also unexposed and must be considered if handling the soft, but a safer alternative could be Charnock Bates One. Tim Easterby's filly scored her first win on soft ground at Beverley in July, and his been most unlucky not to add to that since, beaten by a head at Doncaster and a neck last time out at Ripon when stepping up to this trip for the first time. She seems sure to be in the hunt here and, with a proven liking for these testing conditions, Charnock Bates One just gets the nod from us.
