pulled hard, held up in rear, ridden over 2f out, short-lived effort over 1f out, eased inside final furlong
keen, soon tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up in rear, ridden and hung right from 3f out, headway 2f out, driven to lead well inside final furlong
in touch, effort 2f out, held when short of room inside final furlong
led, ridden 4f out, headed well inside final furlong, kept on gamely
keen, close up, ridden over 2f out, every chance over 1f out, carried right inside final furlong
Juniper Girl was unlucky last time and can make amends here, with Estiqraar and Soapy Danger seen as her main rivals. Anybody that saw Juniper Girl beaten by Questive at Folkestone nine days ago will agree that had Hayley Turner got her into a prominent position sooner, the outcome would have been different. Settled in mid-division and going well throughout from her high draw, she ended up coming off the rail on the home turn and had to be switched back there to go for a gap when Questive, who had come right over from stall two, was sent on by Jamie Spencer. That race will at least have blown the cobwebs away, and there should be no excuses this time. Estiqraar galloped on well when opening his account at Redcar 12 days ago but has to give well over a stone to the selection in this handicap, while Soapy Danger ran green when scoring at Wolverhampton in February and is far from the finished article yet. The other three runners all return to the fray and are best watched, with Juniper Girl the one to beat with conditions in her favour.
Ocean Pride (IRE) 12-1 (9-7) Switched to race far side, mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on to chase leaders final furlong, 3rd of 21, 3l behind Ordnance Row (9-6) at Doncaster 7f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Nov.
Estiqraar (IRE) 10-11fav (9-3) Held up mid-division, headway on out over 3f out, led 2f out, soon ridden, stayed on well, won at Redcar 1m 1f 3yo mdn aut (5) sft in Mar beating Chronomatic (9-0) by 4l, 8 ran.
High Command 4-9fav (9-0) Held up behind leaders, ridden over 1f out, ran on final furlong to lead close home, won at Catterick 7f 2yo mdn (5) gf in Aug beating Lightning Affair (9-0) by a nk, 13 ran.
Twill (IRE) 8-1 (8-12) With leaders, led well over 2f out, soon hung left, ridden clear over 1f out, won at Southwell 1m nov stk (5) fbs in Nov beating Queen's Composer (8-12) by 8l, 11 ran.
Soapy Danger 2-11fav (9-3) Always prominent, led 5f out, driven along over 2f out, ridden clear over 1f out, ran on well, won at W'hampton 1m 1f 3yo mdn (5) pol in Feb beating Markington (9-3) by 3 1/2l, 10 ran.
Juniper Girl (IRE) 5-2fav (9-1) Led for 1f, tracked leaders, taken to inside approaching final furlong, stayed on to take 2nd final 75 yards, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Questive (9-1) at Folkestone 1m 2f 3yo hcp (5) sft in Mar.
