behind, headway on inside over 1f out, stayed on strongly
tracked leaders, led 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra
held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, not quicken
mid-division, effort halfway, soon weakened
led, headed 1f out, weakened quickly
tracked leaders, short of room inside 1st furlong, effort over 2f out, soon no impression
chased leaders, weakened halfway
in touch, chased leaders approaching final furlong, hard ridden and ran on to lead well inside final furlong, readily
behind, headway over 1f out, ran on well, never nearer
held up in rear, never a factor
Withdrawn
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
Prior Warning may be able to run into the frame at a big price if the rain gets into the ground but he doesn't appeal as a likely winner; three that do are Sundae, Northern Dare and Lord Of The Reins with the vote going the way of Chris Wall's runner. Sundae gets the vote in part due to the belief that he will provide better value than Northern Dare. Dandy Nicholls' runners are rightly the focus of plenty of attention in sprint handicaps and this fellow looks certain to attract more than his fair share following a fine second at the Curragh last time. He races from the same mark, will handle the ground, has a good strike rate for a horse of this type and has leading claims. The selection has arguably been disappointing in three runs this season, particularly considering that Chris Wall 's string were in particularly good form at the time of his reappearance in May. He went from strength to strength last season and was only two and a half lengths behind Northern Dare in the Ayr Silver Cup and is 6lbs better off with that rival today whilst he is reunited with Ted Durcan who has partnered him to two of his four successes (including over course and distance). He looks the value call at the likely prices although he must have the ground on the soft side of good to show his best so keep an eye on the weather. Elhamri is on a good mark these days and wasn't beaten far last time but a number of these are more than capable of landing this contest. The last runner that we'll have a close look at is James Given's Lord Of The Reins who appears to fit the progressive profile that we'd look for in trying to find the winner of this race. He's made steady progress in the last twelve months having won from a mark of just 48 under a year ago and his progress shows no signs of abating. He didn't get the run of the race at Beverley last time and we're happy to put a line through that display and the form of his penultimate start would give him every chance of going close on a track that should suit. He'd be the call if the ground remained fast but with rain forecast SUNDAE is selected.
