led, headed after 4f, soon behind
mid-division, headway over 3f out, ridden and one pace final 2f
mid-division, headway 3f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
always behind
mid-division, pushed along over 5f out, never dangerous
held up, headway over 4f out, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
mid-division, effort over 3f out, no impression
never better than mid-division
prominent, pushed along over 6f out, soon lost place
in touch, led over 3f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, stayed on same pace
mid-division, pushed along and lost place over 4f out
prominent, pushed along over 4f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
always in rear
tracked leader, led after 4f out, headed over 3f out, ridden and one pace final 2f
held up behind leaders, ridden 2f out, stayed on same pace
held up, headway over 2f out, ridden and every chance approaching final furlong, no extra inside
held up towards rear, pushed along and headway over 2f out, driven along over 1f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong, kept on
The unexposed Argentum has plenty going for him and gets a tentative vote over the other potential handicap blot High Charter. The in-form Saida Lenasera, Rasid and Isa'af are others to have a look at. The last named does have to better his latest start, though and needs to pull something out of the bag today. Rasid won off a much higher mark around this time last year and creeps into the race on a very fair mark. However, he is on a long losing run and needs more than a little help from Franny Norton if he is going to break the habit this afternoon. Saida Lenasera is suited by a test of stamina and is in good heart at present. She will go up 3lb from Saturday and has to be respected as a live danger. However, it was a notably weak race she won at Southwell and has more on her plate here. High Charter is a half-brother to Lonsdale Cup winner First Charter and should have very little trouble with the trip. He starts the season off a very fair mark and is open to any amount of improvement. However, the market is unlikely to take any chances with him and, as he has the worst of the draw to contend with, others make more appeal at the likely odds. None more so than Argentum, who is well worth another try over this distance. Having won on his only previous visit to Nottingham, the track obviously suits him well and, with Seb Sanders back in the saddle, everything looks in place for a bold bid today.
Isa'af (IRE) 9-2fav Tracked leaders, under pressure over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 10, 7l behind Tromp at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp pol.
My Legal Eagle (IRE) 13-2 Held up in rear, headway from 6f out, ridden 3f out, chased winner 1f out, kept on one pace, 2nd of 14, 5l behind Calamintha at Nottingham 1m 6f hcp gs.
Bill Bennett (FR) 7-1 Mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on final furlong, 6th of 12, 3l behind Lysander's Quest at W'hampton 2m 1f stk pol.
Rasid (USA) 12-1 Held up, ridden and headway over 1f out, ran on final furlong, not reach leaders, 3rd of 16, 2l behind Montosari at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp pol.
Saida Lenasera (FR) 13-2 Tracked leaders, led over 3f out, clear 2f out, ridden out, won at Southwell 2m hcp gs beating Colleton River by 2l, 13 ran.
Front Rank (IRE) 7-1 Slowly into stride, raced wide in rear, headway from 3f out, stayed on under pressure to take 3rd inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 4l behind Coustou at Folkestone 1m 4f app hcp sft.
Prokofiev (USA) 4-1fav Held up, ridden 4f out, weakened over 3f out, 10th of 13, 11l behind Sausalito Bay at Sandown 1m 3f hcp 0-85 (D) gf in Jul '99.
High Charter 5-2fav Prominent, ridden and every chance from over 2f out, unable to quicken final furlong, 2nd of 10, 2l behind Warbreck at Southwell 1m 4f 3yo & 4yo mdn (E3) fbs in Dec.
