mid-division, outapced 6th, ridden approaching 3 out, never on terms
held up towards rear headway 4 out, chased leaders when mistake next, soon ridden and no impression
made most, quickened approaching 3 out, ridden and ran on well from last
held up, headway 7th, ridden to chase leaders approaching 3 out, weakened after next
soon in touch, headway to track winner 4 out, every chance and not fluent next, ridden and weakened 2 out
tracked leaders, ridden 4 out, lost place next, soon weakened
with winner until lost place 4 out, soon ridden, weakened approaching 2 out
always behind
mid-division, headway 7th, every chance from 3 out, ridden next, kept on under pressure flat
behind, headway 7th, effort 3 out, ridden and kept on same pace from next
not jump well in rear, behind and no chance when fell 3 out
Cotty's Rock is selected to beat the other penalised runner One Five Eight, with Aberdare, Top The Bill and Saffronto likely to make their presence felt as well. Cotty's Rock steps up in trip today, having opened his account at Sedgefield where he beat the favourite Wing Commander quite tidily, and can continue his progress. The five-year-old disappointed his trainer when making his debut at Carlisle in April, having been given plenty of time to recover from a rough passage in transit from Ireland. He still has plenty to learn but has the scope to do well over a distance and gets the vote over One Five Eight who benefited both from the longer trip and being held up at Southwell, grabbing the verdict right on the line. He was a bit too keen at Sedgefield the time before but now that he is learning to settle, can go well and give the selection most to do. It is interesting that Keith Mercer partners Top The Bill, with Ferdy Murphy having two runners, Canavan and Saffronto in the race, so any move in the market for the four-year-old should be noted. However, the top two on the racecard appear to be the pair to concentrate on, with preference for Cotty's Rock.
