chased leaders, weakened over 2f out
held up in touch, headway halfway, stayed on from 3f out, chased winner final furlong, no impression
held up mid-division, driven 7f out, soon lost place
led and raced keen, headed over 2f out, weakened final furlong
chased leaders, weakened over 4f out
chased leaders, took closer order 6f out, weakened entering final furlong
chased leaders, headway over 4f out, led on bit over 2f out, pushed clear
held up towards rear, headway halfway, never dangerous
chased leaders, took closer order 6f out, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 2f out
This is a wide open bumper to close the card and the leading lights appear to be Touch of Irish, Keene Spirit and Mighty Magnus with the vote given to the first mentioned. Alan Swinbank has a great record with his bumper horses and this 6-year-old shaped with plenty of promise on his racecourse debut when he finished behind Kealshore Boy. There should be more to come and he rates as the tentative choice. Keene Spirit won well on his debut at Sedgefield and he does have plenty of scope for improvement, but he has more on his plate today and he could be found wanting. Mighty Magnus has shaped with promise on both of his two runs to date but he will need to show further progress if he is to make his mark today. There are several interesting newcomers here so the market should be monitored for clues, but in the absence of that information we will side with Touch Of Irish as the one to be on.
Keene Spirit 15-2 (10-6) Held up, steady headway over 7f out, challenged over 2f out, ridden and stayed on well to lead near finish, won at Sedgefield 2m 1f nhf (6) gf in Nov beating Duke of Burgundy (11-2) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Dallas Bell Minster Son gelding out of a lightly-raced mare.
Eyre Square (IRE) Publisher gelding out of a lightly-raced mare.
Kings Guard (IRE) Turtle Island gelding out of winning hurdler Rose Of Stradbally.
Little Wizard (IRE) Oscar gelding out of an unraced mare.
Mighty Magnus (IRE) 14-1 (10-11) Led, soon clear headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 19, 9l behind Charity Lane (10-4) at Haydock 2m nhf (6) sft in Dec.
Pressman 100-1 (11-5) Led until ridden and headed 4f out, soon one pace, 3rd of 15, 10l behind Desert Vision (10-7) at Musselburgh 2m nhf (5) sft.
Prosecco (IRE) Perpendicular gelding out of a lightly-raced mare.
Skipper's Lad (IRE) Flemensfirth gelding, half-brother to a winning pointer.
Too Cool To Fool (IRE) Bob Back gelding, half-brother to winning hurdler Perfect Present.
Touch of Irish 11-8fav (11-4) In touch, headway and every chance over 3f out, one pace final 2f, 4th of 11, 11l behind Kealshore Boy (10-7) at Kelso 2m mdn nhf (6) sft in Jan '07.
Bonneta (FR) 5-1 (10-12) Held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, one pace from over 1f out, 7th of 17, 10l behind Cornerback (10-12) at Wetherby 2m mrs nhf (5) gd in Nov.
Crystal Witch Accondy filly out of winning sprinter First Fastnet.
She's So Lucky (IRE) Rudimentary mare out of winning bumper Laura's Pursuit.
Calm Seas (IRE) Posidonas gelding out of an unraced mare.
Denison Dancer Paris House gelding out of a moderate racemare.
