tracked winner, ridden and effort 2f out, not pace to challenge 1f out, kept on
tracked leaders, ridden 3f out weakened from 2f out
held up towards rear, headway 2f out, effort and every chance over 1f out, one pace inside final furlong
started slowly, held up in rear, headway from 2f out, joined winner and every chance inside final furlong, no extra final 50 yards
close up, ridden and effort over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
made all, soon led, ridden over 3f out, joined inside final furlong, rallied and in command final 50 yards
mid-division ridden over 3f out, no impression final 2f
pulled hard in touch on outer, ridden and hung left from 4f out, lost touch final 3f, tailed off
This is quite a tricky affair, with many of the runners possessing scope for a lot of improvement; that said we will select Crime Scene ahead of Grain Of Truth and John Terry. The selection is unbeaten in two starts now and, much as he only scrambled home at Musselburgh last time, he possesses plenty of scope and, with the step up in trip likely to prove okay for him, we will stick with him tonight. Much as Grain Of Truth can hardly be said to have been impressive at Ripon last time, she holds both the Ribblesdale and Irish Oaks entry and has to be respected. John Terry didn't build on his Leicester debut win last time but you could argue that he is well handicapped and the step up in trip should certainly help today. Turning to the others and In Dubai won well on the soft at Doncaster last time but lacks a recent run, Alhaitham has proven himself pretty tough, an attribute that should serve him well on his handicap debut, Masterofthecourt is a little hard to quantify based on his Windsor win, but the other pair probably need to improve in order to feature tonight. All of which returns us to the selection, which is Crime Scene.
Crime Scene (IRE) 13-2 (9-4) Tracked leading pair, effort over 2f out, riddeb well over 1f out, stayed on strongly inside final furlong to lead near finish, won at Musselburgh 1m 3yo hcp (4) gf in May beating Direct Debit (9-4) by a hd, 7 ran.
In Dubai (USA) 4-1 (8-11) Made virtually all, ridden over 1f out, driven out final furlong, won at Doncaster 1m 2yo mdn fll (5) sft in Oct beating Act Friendly (8-11) by 3/4l, 18 ran.
Alhaitham (USA) 13-8 (9-3) Held up in rear, ridden 2f out, not trouble leaders, 7th of 12, 5l behind Mobsir (9-3) at Lingfield 7f 3yo mdn (5) gd in May.
John Terry (IRE) 8-1 (8-11) Slowly into stride, always behind, 8th of 11, 14l behind Horatio Nelson (8-11) at Newmarket 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) gs in Jul.
Grain of Truth 4-9fav (8-11) Held up, headway over 2f out, led well over 1f out, ran on final furlong, won at Ripon 1m 2f mdn stk (5) gd in May beating Tasjeel (8-11) by 3/4l, 14 ran.
Salute Him (IRE) 14-1 (8-9) Raced centre, tracked winner, ridden to challenge over 2f out, soon faded, 8th of 9, 10l behind Levera (9-2) at Newmarket 7f 3yo hcp (2) sft in May.
Masterofthecourt (USA) 4-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, ridden to challenge 2f out, narrow lead inside final furlong, held on, won at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo mdn aut (5) gf in May beating Beckett Hall (9-3) by a nk, 17 ran.
Empire Dancer (IRE) 8-1 (8-10) Led early, led over 6f out, ridden over 1f out, headed near finish, 2nd of 9, 1/2l behind King's Revenge (9-3) at W'hampton 1m 1f 3yo mdn aut (5) pol in May.
