held up, headway 4 out, soon ridden, weakened approaching last
held up in touch, when fell 7th
held up towards rear, mistake 5th, lost touch 8th, tailed off
held up in touch, went 2nd at 10th, driven to challenge approaching last, soon every chance, kept on well
tracked leader, mistake 3rd, fell 3 out
led, ridden after 2 out, headed and no extra flat
held up, headway after 2 out, hard ridden and ran on to lead near finish
held up towards rear, hit 5th, hampered and unseated rider 7th
tracked leader, slow 10th, ridden 3 out soon weakened
Only three of these have raced in the last three months and with only Aircon among them having shown any real worthwhile form the chances are that the winner will come from one of the other six runners with preference for Sir Toby over Superb Leader and Harik. The selection suffered an 11lb rise for winning over course and distance last year but has since won races at Kempton and Leicester and probably found the softer surface against him when beaten at the last mentioned venue on his final start of the campaign. Richard Rowe's gelding makes his return under more favourable conditions and is taken to carry on where he left of last season. The Venetia Williams-trained Superb Leader has yet to prove his effectiveness on a faster surface so a bigger threat may come from Gary Moore's Harik, who is better treated now than for some time and will also appreciate the underfoot conditions. Strong Magic has slipped to an attractive mark and warrants a mention, while Aircon is a consistent performer and should again be thereabouts but Sir Toby has plenty in his favour and gets the nod.
