in touch, driven 8th, weakened 3 out
track leaders, led 5th, headed 4 out, weakened after 3 out, pulled up before last
started slowly, in rear, headway 9th, led next, ridden 3 out, headed soon after, weakened approaching last
track leaders, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, close to order 7th, led after 3 out, hit 2 out, ridden when mistake last, kept on
mid-division, ridden and weakened 4 out, pulled up before 2 out
towards rear, not fluent 5th, soon ridden, behind when pulled up after 9th
track leaders, ridden and lost place 8th, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
led, headed 5th, weakened 4 out
held up, headway and plenty to do 3 out, chased leading pair 2 out, ran on
Thenford Star is the one to beat in the finale, with Not For Diamonds, Velvet Dove and Girardii the ones to give him most to do. Thenford Star lines up in fair form, having won two of his last four outings, including at Fakenham the time before last when he got up in the final strides to prevail. A drop back in trip and softer ground contributed to his defeat at Wincanton last time, and so, although he has plenty of weight here, other than that, he has more going for him than most. Not For Diamonds has 13-lengths to find with the selection on Wincanton running, but is well over a stone better off, so should be there or thereabouts at the finish. Velvet Dove makes her handicap debut after shaping with promise against decent opposition on all four starts, so should be kept on the right side, while Girardii seemed to like fast ground on the Flat, so at least has that in his favour. However, despite topweight, we feel that Thenford Star has the class to come out on top, with Gerard Tumelty adding to our confidence by utilising his 3lb claim.
