slowly into stride, held up, never nearer
with winner, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up, headway and every chance over 1f out, weakened quickly final furlong
always towards rear
tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, outpaced, never nearer
made all, ridden out
always prominent, ridden over 2f out, every chance over 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up, ridden over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, nearest finish
held up towards rear, ridden 3f out, switched left 2f out, effort over 1f out, one pace final furlong
tracked leaders, challenged winner entering final furlong, every chance until unable to quicken close home
held up, ridden 3f out, beaten 2f out
A tight race to call and with no real stand out at the weights, but Melody Master can provide value seekers with a good run for the money, and the Michael Ryan-trained three-year-old just edges it over Winning Note, Gun Salute and Franksalot. The Woodborough colt appreciated the stronger handling of Martin Dwyer when getting off the mark in a handicap over a mile on the polytrack here at the start of the year but has since indicated that he is worth a try over this trip. Winning Note put in her most encouraging effort to date on her reappearance at Folkestone last month, but has already become a frustrating horse to follow and is not one to go in heavily with at this stage. Gun Salute, a cheap purchase out of the Ed Dunlop camp for his current connections, is open to plenty of improvement and could be good value for a place. Where as Franksalot has a tendency to down tools and is one for the brave only.
