towards rear, never nearer
held up in touch, headway and switched right approaching 2 out, led well over 1f out, soon clear
chased leaders, lost place half way, ridden and stayed on from over 1f out
led, ridden and headed well over 1f out
towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on same pace
mid-division, ridden and weakened 3f out
chased leaders 3f
slowly into stride, always in rear
in touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on to take 2nd approaching final furlong
raced wide, in rear, headway over 1f out, nearest finish
tracked leader, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out
chased leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened approaching final furlong
dwelt, towards rear, ridden and headway on inside approaching 2f out, soon one pace
An open contest that can go to Gentle Response, who has been running as if worth a try over this sort of trip again and has dropped a few hints lately that her turn is, at last, not too far away. There are a number of dangers though as the likes of Prince Of Perles, Pookas daughter and Tiny Tim will not make it easy for the selection if they run anywhere near their capabilities. However, facts have to be faced and they would not be racing in this grade if they could be relied upon to give their all every time they run. Therefore, it may pay to stick with Gentle Response whilst her confidence is on a high. The daughter of Puissance has taken well to this surface and has appreciated the ease in grade after finding handicaps beyond her over the last year or so. The four-year-old fits the typical profile for a Banded Stakes winner and this could finally be the day that Gentle Response leaves her maiden status behind her - especially as Simon Whitworth has seen fit to stand by her today. Tonjoneski is another that could pose them all a few problems and is one to monitor for signs of each-way support if the market overreacts to the claims held by Gentle Response who, in all fairness, would be a double-figure proposition if she faced with only a slightly harder task.
