held up on outside, brief effort over 4f out, hung badly right to stand side and weakened over 2f out, soon eased
led, headed over 2f out, soon ridden and outpaced, weakened final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden and effort 2f out, kept on until one pace final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden and effort over 2f out, stayed on to challenge and every chance when carried left over 1f out, no extra final furlong
tracked leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed over 1f out, kept on same pace
held up, ridden and outpaced 3f out, headway under pressure over 2f out, led and edged left over 1f out, stayed on well final furlong
prominent 2f, soon behind, no danger after
Some less then reliable sorts line up here and of them our vote goes to BORASCO from Hit The Switch and General Tufto. David Barron does well with his runners here and his American-bred mare ran well on her only previous try on the surface. That staying-on effort over six furlongs bodes well ahead of this step-up in trip and she also looked in need of a mile when staying on at Wolverhampton last time. A rating of 64 doesn't look too harsh and indeed it's some 6lbs lower than when the mare last raced here, so she looks to have solid claims of landing this contest, possibly from Hit The Switch. Pat Morris' gelding is two from five here and won off three pounds lower two starts ago, so whilst the four-year-old has since disappointed off this mark many will give him another chance with conditions ideal. Our feeling is that he'll run a solid race and will be suited by the smaller field but he might just be handicapped up to his best. General Tufto is 9lbs higher than when comfortably scoring at the start of December and having struggled since wouldn't look to be an obvious player. However, the five-year-old likes it here and can race prominently so must be given place claims despite the fact a career best would be required if he's to score. West End Lad is entitled to come on for his run last time and as a winner here is respected although again his mark doesn't leave much room for manoeuvre, Scrupulous has form on soft so may go on the surface but will need to improve upon her last start whilst Hayley Turner is an interesting booking for Highland River who otherwise would make no real appeal. Amber Moon gets weight from all rivals but will need it and Vogarth has been beaten out of sight lately, so our attentions return to Borasco who can take this.
Scrupulous 22-1 (8-10) Steadied start, pulled hard, held up in rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression, 6th of 7, 10l behind Iron Out (8-9) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Dec.
West End Lad 15-2 (8-13) Slowly into stride, held up, headway 3f out, soon pushed along to chase leaders, weakened final furlong, 4th of 5, 4l behind Avertis (9-5) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Dec.
General Tufto 12-1 (8-6) Outpaced, never in contention, 7th of 10, 13l behind Ours (8-12) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Dec.
Borasco (USA) 9-2 (9-3) Slowly into stride, not much room soon after start, behind, came wide into straight, kept on inside final furlong, not reached leaders, 5th of 11, 5l behind Striker Torres (9-1) at Wolverhampton 7f Handicap (0-68) (3yo+) (6) pol in Dec.
Vogarth 50-1 (8-7) Always behind, 10th of 11, 12l behind Striker Torres (9-1) at Wolverhampton 7f Handicap (0-68) (3yo+) (6) pol in Dec.
Hit The Switch 5-2fav (9-3) Headway 5f out, chasing leaders 3f out, no impression over 1f out, 6th of 12, 6l behind Hint Of Honey (8-5) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Dec.
Amber Moon 40-1 (9-4) Prominent, weakened over 2f out, 9th of 11, 23l behind Beauchamp Viceroy (9-8) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f sell stks (6) pol in Jul.
Highland River 25-1 (9-1) Chased leaders, outpaced over 3f out, no impression after, 7th of 12, 7l behind Hint Of Honey (8-5) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Dec.
