held up in touch, raced keenly, headway over 1f out, no chance with winner
tracked winner, effort 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up in touch, chased leaders over 2f out, soon one pace
slowly into stride, soon prominent, chased winner over 2f out, weakened final furlong
made all, pulled hard, quickened over 1f out, stayed on strongly
held up in rear, outpaced halfway, soon beaten
Newcomers Realta and, in particular, Palmilla might well be good enough to make life tough for PASTEL BLUE, but nevertheless our selections experience can be put to good use here. Michael Bell's filly is bred to appreciate this step up to a mile and therefore should be hard to beat, with her official mark of 71 setting a reasonable standard and the distinct possibility of further progress. She does have a near six-month absence to overcome so a market check is advised, but Hayley Turner's mount is the one to beat on what we've seen so far. Accordingly, if there is to be an upset then one of the newcomers might be the most likely to provide it. Luca Cumani saddles Palmilla and this daughter of Galileo, who won on his debut over this trip, is of serious interest in the market along with Realta. Again, this filly should be at home over a mile for this debut but her paper credentials aren't as compelling as the Cumani runner as her breeding is modest, so unless strong market support comes the way of Nicky Mackay's mount she might be worth opposing this time. Celestial Girl ran in a decent maiden on her debut and whilst she didn't figure that day improvement should be forthcoming, so she rates a live threat to all although perhaps another couple of furlongs wouldn't go amiss. Que Belle has been noticeably weak in the market on both starts and might be seen in a better light when handicapping after this run, Castleburg turns out quickly for her second start after a long absence and is best watched, and Chateau Zara will need to improve plenty for her moderate debut last year. The market will tell us more in the run up to this contest but without that guide the form claims of Pastel Blue are preferred.
Castleburg 33-1 (8-11) Held on towards rear, ridden 2f out, headway on inside 1f out, no progress inside final furlong, 7th of 10, 4l behind Elusive Ronnie (9-1) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Realta Bahamian Bounty filly out of Jasmine Breeze.
Celestial Girl 11-1 (8-12) Held up towards rear, weakened entering final furlong, 9th of 12, 6l behind Capricornus (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f 2yo mdn stks (5) pol in Dec.
Chateau Zara 22-1 (8-12) Mid-division, weakened over 2f out, 9th of 14, 9l behind Highland Quaich (9-3) at Kempton 7f 2yo mdn auc stks (6) pol in Oct.
Palmilla (IRE) Galileo filly out of Quatre Saisons.
Pastel Blue (IRE) 10-1 (9-3) Prominent, led 5f out, ridden and headed 1f out, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 12, 6l behind Lucky Rave (9-7) at Lingfield 7f 2yo hco 0-75 (5) pol in Aug.
Que Belle (IRE) 40-1 (8-12) Towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, never near leaders, 5th of 11, 12l behind Burghley (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol.
