led and soon 10 lengths clear, came back to field 8f out, ridden and headed narrowly 2f out, rallied to have every chance inside final furlong, all out and just held
raced wide in touch, ridden and weakened 3f out
tracked leaders, went 2nd 8f out until over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
mid-division, ridden and headway 3f out, went 3rd over 1f out, kept on one pace
held up, ridden 4f out, soon weakened
chased clear leader until 8f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out
mid-division, smooth headway to 3rd 3f out, ridden to lead narrowly 2f out, driven and joined inside final, all out
Dan Buoy isn't the most reliable of horses and can be taken on with BORN TO PERFORM, with Amir Pasha the most interesting of Micky Hammond's trio. Richard Guest's horse won impressively at the course last week under the talented Billy Cray and with that jockey once again up must be tough to beat. He set a furious gallop that day and deserves extra credit for keeping on so resolutely, but he's got a bit further to go today and the other jockeys will surely be keen to make sure he doesn't get a soft lead this time. For those reasons he's just about worth taking on and we do so with Born To Perform, a dual bumper winner who should prefer this ground to the rain-softened conditions he faced at Redcar last time. That was his first run for over six months and he should've come on enough to go very close here with the yard in form. Micky Hammond won this race last year and is going all out to repeat the feat by saddling Amir Pasha, Calfraz and Fair Spin. The last pair need a market check on their return to the flat but without that guide Amir Pasha looks the strongest. He's a maiden on the level but hasn't had too many chances, ran well last time and promises to stay. King In Waiting has been running well over timber and is considered and Pocket Too had no chance behind an improver last time and could do better but we like Born To Perform.
Dan Buoy (FR) 20-1 (8-3) Made all, raced keen and soon clear until 3f out, ridden inside final furlong, held on well towards finish, won at Pontefract 2m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gd beating Bold Adventure (8-7) by 1/2l, 7 ran.
Pocket Too 14-1 (9-11) Prominent, led over 3f out, soon headed, weakened final furlong, 6th of 11, 12l behind Mountain Forest (8-5) at Kempton 2m hacp 0-70 (5) pol.
Born To Perform 11-2 (9-5) Mid-division, smooth headway over 3f out, led going well inside final 2f, ridden and edged left over 1f out, headed 1f out, rallied towards finish, always just held, 2nd of 16, hd behind Sendali (8-12) at Redcar 2m hcp 0-65 (6) sft.
King In Waiting (IRE) 20-1 (8-9) Towards rear, driven and headway over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out, 5th of 12, 10l behind Theola (8-8) at York 2m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Oct.
Amir Pasha (UAE) 12-1 (8-4) Mid-division, ridden to chase leaders over 2f out, effort when not clear run over 1f out, switched right inside final furlong, stayed on to go 3rd towards finish, 3rd of 11, 2 1/4l behind Red Wine (8-10) at Catterick 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) gs.
Calfraz 33-1 (8-6) Held up, outpaced over 4f out, kept on final 2f, no impression, 4th of 12, 10l behind Esprit de Corps (9-12) at Pontefract 2m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Oct '06.
Fair Spin 20-1 (8-9) Prominent, ridden along over 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 7th of 14, 17l behind That Look (8-5) at Doncaster 2m app hcp (6) gd in Jul '08.
Alloro 80-1 (8-5) Mid-division, ridden halfway, soon weakened, 7th of 10, 13l behind Hurricane Coast (8-9) at Southwell 1m app hcp (6) fbs in Jan '09.
