in rear, ridden halfway, headway over 1f out, kept on
tracked winner, outpaced 3f out, rallied 1f out, stayed on
raced wide in touch, ridden and weakened over 1f out
tracked leaders, chased winner 3f out, joined winner inside final furlong, not quicken
held up, ridden 2f out, weakened 1f out
slowly away, in rear, kept on, never near leaders
keen and held up, effort 2f out, weakened 1f out
made all, set easy pace, quickened over 1f out, joined inside final furlong, ran on
keen tracked leaders, ridden and weakened final furlong
LUCKY REDBACK may have got away with murder up just 3lbs for a quietly impressive win last time and rates the best bet on the card, with Caprio and Jake The Snake the pair most likely to cause an upset. The selection returned from almost 18 months off the track with a tidy win at Lingfield last time. That victory came over six furlongs but the colt looked to be crying out for a step up in trip and did very well to score, despite being off the bridle for much of the race and last turning in. He was well backed to score that day and it's easy to see why when glancing through his past form, with a two lengths second to group performer Lahaleeb suggesting this revised mark of 85 may prove a massive underestimation of his ability. There is a slight concern as to whether he might bounce on this second run back, but he went down as a horse to follow last time and we're prepared to do so. Caprio is consistent and likes it here but much of his winning comes in plating class and he's higher in the weights than when held on his latest handicap start, so despite the fact a place does look likely in this line-up winning may prove beyond him. Similar comments apply to the versatile Jake The Snake, who was a shade unfortunate not to score last time but has gone up a pound for it. Divine Force is paying the price for his winter purple-patch and may have to wait a while before scoring again, whilst Noble Jack has it all to prove having disappointed off this mark last time. Timeteam is consistent enough but his wins have come at six furlongs and Ra Junior takes a massive drop in trip and it doesn't look likely to prove fruitful, so for those seeking value perhaps Last Sovereign will provide it. He's a course and distance winner who is only 3lbs above his last winning mark, but our feeling is that the 3lb rise given to Lucky Redback following his latest win isn't nearly enough to prevent another.
Ra Junior (USA) 25-1 (9-0) Raced wide in touch, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 10th of 15, 23l behind Fastnet Storm (8-10) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) sft in Oct.
Lucky Redback (IRE) 5-2fav (9-1) In rear, pushed along and of the pace over 2f out, headway 1f out, edged right driven to lead post, won at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol beating Secret Witness (8-11) by 1/2l, 5 ran.
Indian Skipper (IRE) 33-1 (8-4) Slowly away, towards rear, ridden and headway on inside over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 11th of 12, 10l behind Mahadee (9-4) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-100 (2) pol in Feb.
Caprio (IRE) 10-11fav (9-12) Made all, asserted 2f out, pushed out inside final furlong, always readily holding runner up, won at Kempton 7f clm stks (6) pol in Feb beating Little Pete (9-10) by 1/2l, 6 ran.
Timeteam (IRE) 9-2 (9-4) Slowly into stride, reluctant early, raced in last, headway on outside over 3f out, chased winner briefly over 2f out, beaten over 1f out, 4th of 5, 6l behind Sutton Veny (8-13) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Jake The Snake (IRE) 9-4fav (8-11) Held up and keen, soon in rear, headway and switched left to inner over 1f out, soon ridden, led entering final furlong, caught post, 2nd of 5, ns behind Prince Of Thebes (8-12) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Divine Force 2-1fav (8-11) Slowly away, caught the field over 5f out, in rear, ridden and effort over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 7, 4l behind Arachnophobia (9-0) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Last Sovereign 4-1 (9-3) Chased winner throughout, ridden 2f out, no impression, 2nd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Kipchak (8-8) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Feb.
Noble Jack (IRE) 7-1 (8-10) Slowly into stride, always in rear, last of 7, 4l behind Thunderball (8-11) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jan.
