in touch, ridden and no impression from 2f out
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, one pace
held up in rear, headway over 1f out, no impression
tracked leaders, led over 2f out, clear and edged left 1f out
held up, weakened over 3f out
tracked leader, weakened well over 2f out
This looks a tightly-nit handicap so our preference for OSTENTATION ahead of Paintball and Wedding Party is marginal. Mark Johnston's gelding may well be flattered by a literal reading of his latest form, when too good for Rock A Doodle Doo. That one has since won twice so on the face of it our selection remains well treated up 9lbs, but caution is advised as this son of Dubawi very much got the run of the race that day. He should act at Southwell on breeding though and his prominent racing style is suited to the track, so he gets the vote from Paintball who carries top weight. Willy Muir's colt ran well enough here on debut when well backed and his victory at the track over seven furlongs last time confirmed the feeling he likes the Fibresand. A mile shouldn't be a problem and it'll be interesting to see how he goes in the betting in relation to our pick, whose yard has a couple of lines of form with this one to go on. Wedding Dream looks up against it at the weights but she's two from two over course and distance, so with Amy Ryan's claim helping even things out she can go well. Lily Lily would be of interest but she's declared to run at Wolverhampton on Monday and her chance will depend on whether she takes up that engagement and indeed how she fares, so at this stage we prefer Barlaman of the remainder. Clive Brittain's colt should be suited by stepping up in trip and taking to Fibresand for the first time and needs watching closely, along with House Red who ran a promising sort close last time out. Mororless won well here on debut but hasn't gone on from it, so we'll return to Ostentation to land this competitive finale.
Paintball (IRE) 8-11fav (8-5) Held up in touch, pushed along over 2f out, led 1f out, ran on well, eased close home, won at Southwell 7f mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Jan beating Midnight Strider (9-12) by 4l, 7 ran.
House Red (IRE) 11-8fav (9-3) Pressed leader, led over 2f out, edged right over 1f out, soon ridden, headed inside final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 4, 1 1/4l behind Thundering Home (9-4) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp (5) pol in Jan.
Barlaman (USA) 7-2 (9-3) In touch, effort when hampered 2f out, hung left and carried head high over 1f out, driven and stayed on to take 2nd post, 2nd of 10, nk behind I'malwaysright (9-3) at Wolverhampton 6f 2yo mdn stks (5) pol in Oct.
Ostentation 2-1fav (9-1) Soon led, headed over 5f out, led over 3f out, kicked clear over 1f out, in no danger after, won at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan beating Rock A Doodle Doo (9-0) by 1 1/4l, 9 ran.
Mororless 7-1 (8-9) Tracked winner, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 9, 7l behind Ana Moutabahi (9-4) at Kempton 1m Classified Claiming Stakes (0-70) (3yo) (6) pol in Jan.
Wedding Dream 11-4 (9-4) Made all, ridden clear over 1f out, comfortable, won at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Jan beating D'urberville (9-3) by 2 3/4l, 8 ran.
Lily Lily 4-1 (9-2) Made all, ridden and edged left from over 1f out, stayed on well, won at Southwell 1m 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Jan beating Mororless (8-13) by 2 1/4l, 4 ran.
