slowly into stride, always behind, eased and tailed off from well over 1f out
held up, ridden and headway 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, always held
held up in touch, ridden entering final furlong, stayed on same pace
made all, ridden entering final furlong, kept on well
held up, headway over 1f out, soon ridden, one pace
tracked winner, ridden to challenge over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
tracked leaders, weakened inside final furlong
A hot enough maiden for the track but we fancy OTTOMAN EMPIRE to conquer this field with Seaway and Merdaam obvious foes. David Lannigan's charge needs to get back on track having shown plenty of promise in decent maidens on his first two starts before getting turned over at a short price on his third outing. In fairness, the principals have gone on to show a fair level of form and he was heavily eased having appeared to hate the fast ground. That raises an obvious question about the prevailing conditions in the Midlands but there's been enough rain about to think that the son of Pivotal will cope. Seaway and Merdaam set the standard on official ratings with marks of 80 but, presumably, neither are deemed capable of winning a handicap from their ratings hence their continued presence in maiden races. They are clearly vulnerable to a fair sort and there are a couple with the potential to be deemed such in this line-up. Besides the selection, there is also Lacrosse who failed to hit the back of the net on his second start having caught the eye on debut. He's been given plenty of time and could yet reach his goal; the market promises to be informative. Bow To No One has shaped well enough on her two starts to be seriously considered but Ottoman Empire is preferred.
Billy The Gas 14-1 (10-12) Always in rear, tailed off after 3f out, last of 15, well behind Stopped Out (10-5) at Wetherby 1m 5f 3yo nhf (5) sft in Dec.
Arashi 40-1 (9-2) Mid-division, never on terms final 2f, 6th of 15, 9l behind Broad Cairn (9-2) at Haydock 1m mdn stks (5) gs in May.
Flodden Field 33-1 (9-0) In rear, never near leaders, 10th of 15, 17l behind Father Time (9-0) at Great Leighs 1m 2yo mdn stks (4) pol in Nov.
Seaway 9-4fav (9-3) Tracked leaders, headway to challenge over 2f out, soon ridden, kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 14, 4 1/2l behind Mutawarath (9-3) at York 1m 3yo mdn (4) gd in Jun.
Stormy Morning 66-1 (9-3) Always in rear, 9th of 14, 16l behind Namibian Orator (9-3) at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo mdn (5) gd in Apr.
Bow To No One (IRE) 6-1 (8-12) Mid-division, headway over 1f out, ran on steadily final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 12, 1 1/2l behind Aim To Achieve (8-12) at Kempton 1m mdn stks (4) pol in Jun.
Reset City Reset filly out of City Of Angels.
Laafet 12-1 (11-0) Chased leader until over 4f out, weakened 3f out, 11th of 14, 38l behind Pure Faith (10-10) at Uttoxeter 2m mdn NH flat (6) gd in Jun.
Lacrosse 8-15fav (9-3) In touch, ridden over 2f out, soon outpaced by leading pair, 3rd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Ladies Dancing (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Feb.
Merdaam 4-6fav (8-11) Tracked leader, ridden over 4f out, one pace final 2f, 3rd of 5, 6l behind Dubai Echo (8-11) at Ripon 1m 2f mdn stks (5) gf in Jun.
Ottoman Empire (FR) Pivotal colt out of Chesnut Bird.
