held up in rear, ridden and stayed on, nearest finish
ridden and led over 1f out, joined inside final furlong, stayed on, held on well
ridden to soon lead, headed over 1f out, soon weakened
held up in touch, not much room 2f out, switched inside over 1f out, effort to join winner inside final furlong, ridden and just failed
slowly into stride, held up in rear, ridden 2f out, stayed on final furlong, never nearer
mid-division, wide from over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, not trouble leaders
held up, headway on outer over 3f out, ridden to chase leader briefly 2f out, weakened final furlong
pulled hard, tracked leader, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out
keen, in touch, ridden 2f out, driven, kept on inside final furlong
held up, in touch on inside, effort approaching final furlong, ridden to join winner inside final furlong, held near finish
Plenty of in-form horses in this open-looking handicap so with a degree of trepidation we will side with recent winner Primarily ahead of Shava, Pearl Farm and Muktasb. The selection won despite being outpaced over the minimum trip last time out and this step up to six furlongs looks sure to pose no problems. A wide draw is a negative but if able to gain a good pitch early on, he should be in the shake-up at the line. Balerno won in game fashion over course and distance eleven days ago and whilst a 2lb rise doesn't seem overly harsh (has won off 57 before), he was all-out to win that day and would need to step up today. Shava is very consistent and certainly has place claims at least from his good draw. Freshwinds has been given a mini-break since winning a poor contest in facile fashion last time out and is one to keep an eye on in the betting, whilst Pearl Farm has place claims but ultimately is winless in 11 starts. Muktasb is another consistent sort who's winning turn may not be far away, however for the winner we will tentatively side with Primarily.
Davids Mark 5-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 10, 2 1/2l behind The Fisio (8-13) at Lingfield 5f hcp (6) pol.
Balerno 6-1 (8-11) Held up towards rear, ridden over 2f out, good headway over 1f out, ran on strongly to lead well inside final furlong, all out, won at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-50 (6) pol beating Over To You Bert (8-2) by a nk, 11 ran.
Shava 9-2 (8-11) Close up, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed approaching final furlong, kept on one pace, 2nd of 10, 2l behind Blythe Spirit (8-4) at Southwell 6f hcp (6) fbs in Feb.
Muktasb (USA) 11-2fav (8-12) Held up in rear, headway and not clear run over 1f out, ran on strongly inside final furlong, 3rd of 11, 1/2l behind Balerno (8-11) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-50 (6) pol.
Pearl Farm 7-1 (8-8) Tracked leaders, effort over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, not pace of winner, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Cativo Cavallino (8-4) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-50 (6) pol.
Primarily 11-2 (8-10) Hampered start, in rear, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, driven to lead inside final furlong, edged right near finish, won at Southwell 5f hcp 0-50 (6) fbs beating El Potro (8-9) by 1/2l, 13 ran.
Mind Alert 11-2 (8-12) Towards rear, headway over 1f out, led inside last, headed final strides, 2nd of 11, shd behind Piddies Pride (8-10) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-50 (6) pol.
Freshwinds 6-1 (8-7) Tracked leaders, led inside final furlong, soon clear, pushed out, easily, won at Kempton 5f banded stk (7) pol in Dec beating Sharp Hat (8-12) by 3l, 12 ran.
