slowly away, in rear, ridden 5f out, never nearer
chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened
held up, headway 4f out to track leaders, led over 2f out, soon ridden, joined approaching final furlong, headed near finish
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
held up well in rear, ridden 3f out, kept on, never nearer
mid-division, ridden and weakened 2f out
in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
mid-division, pushed along over 4f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out
held up towards rear, smooth headway approaching 2f out, soon chased leader, ridden and stayed on to lead close home
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, kept on one pace
pulled hard, tracked leaders, hampered and lost place 9f out
From a short list containing Dispol Peto, Montecristo and Padre Nostro we will side with Montecristo. From a canny yard, Arthurs Dream showed enough on Turf last year to be given some thought. Big Ralph seemed to improve for a step up in trip last time and first-time blinkers might help the cause further. You can build the case for Chookie Windsor given his falling mark, and he races in first-time cheekpieces today, while Dispol Peto is one of only three course winners in the line-up and he has gone well here in the fairly recent past. He must be on the short list. Recapturing his 2005 form would help Fire At Will, who is a stable companion of Arthurs Dream, and the other track scorers Montecristo and Padre Nosto hold clear and obvious claims from their current ratings. A Mothers Love showed improvement when running in a handicap for the first time last time and she also has to be given some thought. Finally, although Color Man, Danalova and Danum Diva are from good yards, they will need to step up on what they have so far shown on the racecourse in order to feature today. All of which returns us to the selection, which is Montecristo.
Big Ralph 8-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, every chance over 1f out, no extra and faded inside final furlong, 5th of 14, 2 1/2l behind War of The Roses (9-6) at Kempton 1m 2f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Mar.
Dispol Peto 9-1 (8-1) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, stayed on one pace, 6th of 14, 4l behind Blushing Prince (8-0) at Southwell 1m app hcp (6) fbs in Feb.
Montecristo 8-1 (9-1) Chased leaders, effort to have every chance 2f out until inside final furlong, 3rd of 14, 2 1/2l behind Dubai Sunday (9-1) at Lingfield 1m 5f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Mar.
Padre Nostro (IRE) 9-2fav (8-1) Edged left 9f out, soon held up in touch, took closer order 4f out, ridden and every chance 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 4th of 13, 6l behind Boppys Dancer (8-7) at Southwell 1m 3f hcp 0-50 (6) fbs in Mar.
Twilight Avenger (IRE) 12-1 (8-7) Towards rear, headway over 3f out, faded entering final furlong, 4th of 11, 9l behind Trysting Grove (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 4f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Mar.
A Mothers Love 33-1 (8-4) Held up, lost place 4f out, plenty to do 2f out, headway over 1f out, ran on well, just held, 2nd of 13, nk behind King of The Beers (8-12) at Kempton 1m 2f 3yo hcp (6) pol in Mar.
Color Man 40-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride, soon in touch, ridden along after 3f, under pressure and lost place 5f out, soon well behind, 5th of 9, 21l behind Spring Glory (8-12) at Lingfield 1m 4f 3yo mdn (5) pol in Feb.
Danum Diva (IRE) 25-1 (8-4) Held up rear, ridden over 2f out and plenty to do, headway on outer over 1f out, ran on well final furlong, nearest finish, 6th of 13, 12l behind Dan Tucker (9-2) at Kempton 1m 2f 3yo hcp (6) pol in Mar.
