chased winner until over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, outpaced, headway under pressure over 1f out, stayed on to 2nd well inside final furlong, no chance with winner
chased leaders, ridden halfway, weakened approaching final furlong
outpaced, always behind
outpaced, always behind
went badly left start, pulled hard in last quartet, tailed off
chased leaders on rail, went 2nd over 1f out, no chance with winner, weakened to 3rd well inside final furlong
made all on rail, clear over 1f out, unchallenged
reared start, edged left most of way, soon chased on outside, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong
Lady Royal Oak is fascinating in an otherwise mundane handicap. She showed blistering speed on her debut here in 2009 and was thought good enough to go to Royal Ascot in a three-race juvenile campaign. She has since been off an awfully long time but has moved to Peter Chapple-Hyam and the market could tell an interesting story. She faces various C&D winners, of whom MUSICAL BRIDGE is taken to score. Not the most consistent, he's more than capable on his day and a 3lb rise for a recent success seems fair. He's given the nod over Bilash and Baby Queen, whilst Bertie Southstreet is best watched after a modest reappearance until discovering the progressive form displayed last season.
Bertie Southstreet 14-1 (9-5) Tracked leader, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong, last of 8, 7l behind Hinton Admiral (9-1) at Pontefract 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Jun.
Divertimenti (IRE) 28-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 9th of 12, 12l behind Ivory Silk (9-10) at Newmarket 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Jun.
Musical Bridge 9-2 (9-9) Soon led, ridden over 1f out, hung right when hard pressed inside final furlong, kept on well towards finish, won at Leicester 5f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Jun beating Six Wives (9-9) by 3/4l, 5 ran.
Bilash 20-1 (9-0) Held up, never a factor, 12th of 13, 14l behind Six Wives (8-5) at Leicester 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in May.
Danzoe (IRE) 20-1 (9-6) Off the pace in 7th, no progress from halfway, 7th of 12, 9l behind Questionnaire (9-2) at Windsor 6f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Jun.
Lady Royal Oak (IRE) 7-2 (8-7) Keen, tracked leader, led over 3f out, ridden 2f out, headed and no extra inside final furlong, 3rd of 5, 2 1/2l behind Brambleberry (9-0) at Lingfield 5f 2yo nov stks (5) pol in Aug '09.
Star Twilight 10-1 (8-12) Towards rear, headway 2f out, never troubled leaders, 5th of 11, 7l behind Grand Stitch (8-11) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Oct.
Baby Queen (IRE) 4-1 (9-7) Raced in 5th and not on terms, ridden and no chance final 2f, 5th of 10, 7l behind Dreamacha (9-9) at Lingfield 5f fll hcp (5) gf in Jun.
Liberty Ship 12-1 (7-12) Chased leaders, ridden and edged left over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 10th of 13, 9l behind Six Wives (8-5) at Leicester 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in May.