chased leader, led 3f out, soon ridden, clear final furlong
towards rear, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in touch, ridden and weakened over 2f out
always behind
slow away, behind, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, kept on, no impression
chased leaders, ridden and stayed on well approaching final furlong
behind, ridden over 2f out, switched to outer approaching final furlong, stayed on
towards rear, ridden over 2f out, one pace and no impression from over 1f out
slow away, towards ridden over 2f out, stayed on well final furlong
chased leaders early, mid-division, weakened over 1f out
led, headed 3f out, soon ridden, weakened final furlong
towards rear, headway and hampered over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
towards rear, effort over 3f out, never dangerous
mid-division, weakened 2f out
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, one pace final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
towards rear, ridden and headway 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong
slow away, always towards rear
A chance is taken with The Fun Merchant, who is well treated at present and should strip fitter after his reappearance on the All Weather. Premier Rouge, who sports a visor for the first time, and the in-form Third Empire hold sound place claims, while San Antonio is also respected but has it to do off top weight. Premier Rouge is open to improvement and should handle the ground. However, he does not look the most genuine of performers and could be risky if he does not respond to the headgear. Third Empire won his maiden well at Newcastle and can continue to pay his way now that he has proved he knows what it takes to win a race. However, he struggled off this mark last year and may again be short of the mark. San Antonio had Hulla Ballew well in arrears when winning over course and distance earlier in the month and has claims under a 6lb penalty. This course obviously brings the best out of him and he will be hard to keep out of the frame if he is in the mood today. However, he is effectively 6lb wrong at the weights with The Fun Merchant and needs everything to drop just right. The selection on the other hand, has dropped to a favourable mark and should strip fitter after his recent blow out on the All Weather. Cut in the ground also suits The Fun Merchant ideally and another bold bid is expected from him now that he has fitness on his side.
San Antonio 50-1 Made all, ridden clear well over 1f out, kept on, won at Pontefract 1m stk sft beating Mezuzah by 5l, 11 ran.
Third Empire 6-1 Made all, quickened pace over 3f out, kept on final furlong, won at Newcastle 1m 1f mdn stk sft beating Call Me Max by 1 1/2l, 11 ran.
The Fun Merchant 9-1 Prominent, ridden halfway, driven to chase winner 2f out, weakened towards finish, 5th of 12, 3l behind Kabeer at Lingfield 1m hcp (E3) pol in Feb.
Premier Rouge 10-3fav Chased leader, ridden 3f out, every chance approaching final furlong, not quicken, 4th of 9, 2l behind All Quiet at Lingfield 7f hcp pol.
Aswan (IRE) 12-1 Always prominent, led over 2f out, ridden and headed 1f out, kept on, 2nd of 13, nk behind Gone'n'dunnett at W'hampton 6f hcp pol.
Hula Ballew 9-1 Held up, effort over 3f out, headway over 2f out, kept on final furlong, no impression, 3rd of 11, 10l behind San Antonio at Pontefract 1m stk sft.
