tracked leader, ridden to lead approaching 1f out, soon edged left, headed towards finish
keen, held up towards rear, headway on outer 2f out, soon ridden, weakened inside final furlong
held up in rear, pushed along over 2f out, headway over 1f out, soon not clear run, quickened to lead close home readily
keen, tracked leaders, pushed along 3f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out
rider lost iron leaving stalls, pulled hard, raced wide, headway to go 3rd halfway, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out
held up, pushed along over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, kept on to go 4th inside final furlong
led, ridden 2f out, headed approaching 1f out, edged right inside final furlong, rallied towards finish
A tight handicap in which we're prepared to take a chance with Mount Hermon. Jeer has obvious claims despite having to carry a penalty for his course and distance win as he has very few miles on the clock, should be competitive from higher marks than today's and has been quite highly tried in the past. Less obvious are the claims of Shake On It as he is relatively exposed but he did run a blinder on his seasonal return when just failing to overhaul a racefit and in-form rival but a 3lb rise is no help to his chances. Ask The Butler is one of the more interesting runners in the race as he has his first outing since leaving Tony Carroll and market confidence behind his chances would look significant. Northern Jem has always been held in high regard by his trainer but still has a bit to prove on the track whilst Robert The Brave still has to prove himself on turf and Spirit Of Adjisa may find this a shade too competitive. In truth, our selection also has a fair bit to prove but he may well have a little more up his sleeve as his trainer often brings his horses along slowly. He ran well on his first two starts before failing to figure in a valuable sales race on his final start at two before being found an easy opportunity for his first run at three. He then contested a couple of modest handicaps before being asked to contest a warm race at Ascot that was won by Bankable; he was pitched into similar company on his first run of this season and was again comfortably held. Thus, he has a bit to prove but it's interesting that his trainer thought him worthy of contesting those heats and this step up in trip could bring about some improvement whilst his tactical speed should come in handy if this turns into a falsely run race so we're happy to take a chance with Mount Hermon.
Jeer (IRE) 7-2 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden to chase leader over 1f out, soon bumped, driven final furlong, edged left, stayed on to lead towards finish and bumped rival, won at Newmarket 1m 2f hcp 0-90 (3) gf beating Kaateb (9-1) by 1/2l, 7 ran.
Shake On It 20-1 (9-4) Held up in rear, not clear run over 2f out, headway to chase leaders over 1f out, strong challenge well inside final furlong, just held, 2nd of 14, nk behind Emperor Court (9-0) at Windsor 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Apr.
Ask The Butler 66-1 (9-1) Soon tracked leader, ridden 6f out, weakened over 4f out, tailed off, 12th of 15, 34l behind Mahler (9-1) at Ascot 2m 3yo Grp 3 (1) gs in Jun.
Northern Jem 18-1 (8-7) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, one pace over 1f out, 9th of 16, 14l behind Cabinet (9-3) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-105 (2) gs in Apr.
Robert The Brave 4-1 (8-10) Held up in touch, niggled along halfway, driven 3f out, one pace final 2f, 6th of 9, 7l behind Birkside (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Dec.
Mount Hermon (IRE) 14-1 (8-11) Always mid-division, 8th of 15, 8l behind Cape Hawk (9-4) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Apr.
Spirit of Adjisa (IRE) 7-4fav (9-3) In touch, ridden over 3f out, driven and kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 8, 2l behind Robert The Brave (9-3) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
