held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up, switched left and ridden over 1f out, kept on strongly inside final furlong
tracked winner, and raced keen early, ridden 2f out, led over 1f out, and headed, no extra inside final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, soon headed and battled gainly to lead again inside final furlong, driven out
This fillies' handicap has a trappy look to it, with all five having a squeak and we'll side with TTAL OF SAAFEND to land it from Hall Hee. This mile trip and decent ground will suit Peter Monteith-trained Talk Of Saafend, who has been well placed by his handler to win at Kempton, Yarmouth and Hamilton already this month. An extra 6lb means she might feel the pinch a bit here, but the manner of her most recent success suggests she hasn't finished winning yet. Hall Hee travels north to represent Marcus Tregoning and broke her maiden at Bath last time. The handicapper has not let her in lightly here but she is open to improvement and would not be a shock winner. Hula Ballew is back on a reasonable mark and conditions will suit, so can get competitive, Goodbye probably wants a drop in the weights but has conditions and trip to suit, while Debonnaire is likely to find improvement for this extra furlong and could run a big race. We'll take Talk Of Saafend to be head girl here.
Goodbye 6-1 (9-4) Mid-division, ridden halfway, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 9, 4 1/2l behind Persian Sea (9-5) at Pontefract 6f fll hcp 0-90 (3) gs.
Hula Ballew 20-1 (9-8) Close up, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, soon weakened, 15th of 16, 19l behind Major Magpie (9-8) at Pontefract 1m hcap (4) gs.
Talk of Saafend (IRE) 15-8fav (8-8) Held up, smooth headway 3f out, led over 1f out, shaken up to go clear final furlong, won at Hamilton 1m 1f clm (4) sft beating Moody Tunes (9-4) by 6l, 7 ran.
Hall Hee (IRE) 9-4 (8-12) Tracked leaders, driven to lead over 1f out, held on well, won at Bath 1m mdn stk (5) gd in Aug beating Expresso Star (9-3) by a nk, 13 ran.
Debonnaire 12-1 (9-12) Led, hard ridden, challenged well over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 2nd of 11, 1/2l behind Shindy (9-7) at Yarmouth 7f fll hcp (5) gs in Aug.