held up towards rear, headway approaching 2f out, chased winner 1f out, lost 2nd place near finish
led 2f, tracked leader, led over 2f out, stayed on well
held up on outer, headway over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, took 2nd close home
held up in touch, soon tracking leaders, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, soon tracking leader and keen, led after 2f, headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
towards rear, ridden inside final furlong, never dangerous
held up towards rear, headway on inner over 2f out, weakened inside the final furlong
In an above average claimer SEASIDER looks just about the best treated and manages to retain our verdict just ahead of Hinton Admiral and Little Pete. Open to plenty more improvement the selection has found life tough under his current handicap rating. The David Simcock runner did manage a place in a much better race than this on his first run after a break and despite a poor run last time he should do just fine in this grade at these weights. Hinton Admiral doesn't have much to find on these terms and he benefitted form a drop into this company when scoring last time. This is a little tougher especially after a lengthy absence. Little Pete also wouldn't have to improve much to get up here and went well in this grade when finding just a short priced favourite too good on his last run so he easily makes the list. Both last time out winners Lord Fidelio and Alqaahir have chances of getting involved now on form but the vote just about goes to Seasider who has terms in his favour.
Seasider 11-1 (8-4) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, soon weakened, last of 9, 20l behind The Scorching Wind (8-5) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-100 (2) pol in Jan.
Little Pete (IRE) 7-4 (9-10) Tracked leaders, chased winner over 2f out, closed under pressure inside final furlong, always readily held, 2nd of 6, 1/2l behind Caprio (9-12) at Kempton 7f clm stks (6) pol.
Lord Fidelio (IRE) 3-1fav (9-0) Slightly short of room soon after start, held up in rear, headway 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on well to draw clear inside final furlong, won at Kempton 7f Claiming Stakes (0-70) (4yo+) (6) pol beating Straight Face (8-10) by 4l, 7 ran.
Alqaahir (USA) 13-2 (8-7) Held up, in touch, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, stayed on well, won at Kempton 1m clm stks (6) pol beating Having A Ball (8-12) by 2 1/2l, 13 ran.
Esteem Machine (USA) 25-1 (9-2) Slowly away, in rear, short lived effort entering final furlong, 6th of 8, 4 1/2l behind Mr Willis (9-8) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Dec.
Imperial House 13-2 (10-0) Slowly into stride, always behind, last of 10, 31l behind Ravi River (9-9) at Wolverhampton 7f sell stks (6) pol.
Shadow Bay (IRE) 25-1 (8-7) In rear, outpaced 3f out, never dangerous, last of 6, 5l behind Don Pele (8-11) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
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.
Hinton Admiral 5-1 (9-9) Hampered start, headway to chase leaders after 1f, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on, won at Yarmouth 6f clm stks (6) gd in May beating Leftontheshelf (8-7) by 4l, 13 ran.
