held up towards rear, pushed along in rear and outpaced over 2f out
tracked leader, ridden and weakened over 1f out
held up in rear, headway over 1f out, soon ridden, stayed on inside final furlong, led post
led, ridden approaching final furlong, soon under pressure, caught post
tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden approaching final furlong, soon weakened
held up in touch in 4th, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
KINGSGATE CASTLE has been in good form for a while now and rates value to beat the likely favourite Sherjawy; Hollow Jo can head the chasing pack. Luke Morris once again takes the ride aboard this son of Kyllachy and he'll be hoping the pair get better luck than they did last time when hampered at Kempton. In the circumstances that closing fourth rates a very good effort and the form has been franked, so off the same rating he can win again over his ideal trip. Sherjawy did well to win last time and has his ideal conditions, however in this type of low-grade contest it can often pay to take on horses running under a penalty and we'll do just that. Even so, this consistent sort should comfortably hold off the rest of the field in what looks a poor race. Hollow Jo is tactically versatile and that can stand him in good stead here. He's just 3lbs higher than when winning over course and distance at the end of January so should be capable of running a solid race, albeit one that will likely end in defeat. John Fahy claims seven pounds off Bold Ring which of course helps but she needs a career best to score, Bobs Dreamflight would look competitive on both his maiden win here and his form of last summer but lately the gelding has been well held, whilst Millfields Dreams hasn't won for over three years and that doesn't look set to change. Two horses stand out in this handicap and Kingsgate Castle should represent the value if, as predicted, he goes off clear second favourite.
Bobs Dreamflight 20-1 (8-6) Led, ridden approaching 2f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened, last of 6, 7l behind New Leyf (8-11) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-80 (4) pol.
Millfields Dreams 25-1 (8-12) Behind stands side, outpaced 3f out, never on terms, 8th of 9, 4l behind Dig Deep (8-10) at Chepstow 7f hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Aug.
Hollow Jo 12-1 (9-1) Held up, towards rear, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened, 9th of 10, 11l behind Secret Witness (9-4) at Kempton 6f hacp 0-70 (5) pol.
Sherjawy (IRE) 11-2 (8-6) Led, headed over 3f out, led again over 2f out, soon ridden, hard pressed inside final furlong, held on towards finish, won at Kempton 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol beating Love You Louis (9-3) by nk, 12 ran.
Kingsgate Castle 7-1 (8-10) Held up and behind, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 10, 2l behind Secret Witness (9-4) at Kempton 6f hacp 0-70 (5) pol.
Bold Ring 12-1 (8-4) Slowly into stride, behind, ridden and headway on inside over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong, 5th of 8, 3 1/2l behind La Gifted (8-4) at Wolverhampton 7f fll hcp (0-75) (3yo+) (5) pol in Oct.
