made virtually all, ridden over 2f out, edged left under pressure, kept on final furlong
towards rear, never dangerous
towards rear, soon chased along, driven over 1f out, some late headway, never reached challenging position
started slowly, soon mid-division, ridden over 2f out, driven and one pace final furlong
in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
dwelt, soon prominent, driven over 1f out, not much room approaching final furlong, kept on
always rear division
chased leaders, ridden along halfway, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, always rear division
slowly into stride, behind, headway on inner over 2f out, driven and stayed on towards finish
prominent, ridden along when outpaced halfway, headway over 1f out, ran on final furlong
The market is the best guide to this conundrum and in the absence of it, KARTA is our pick with Boss Hog and Duke Of Urbino also respected. A half-sister to Ravi River, Mark Johnston's charge should realistically stay seven furlongs and literally could be anything. Boss Hog makes the benchmark for the assessor to use. He was scheduled to appear at the course on Thursday so watch this space. Duke Of Urbino carries the Duncan Davidson colours and was far from a cheap purchase at the sales. A son of Medicean, its little wonder that connections have had to wait for their first racecourse sighter. Lively Blade looked to be getting the hang of things by the end of his debut and it would be no surprise to see Ed McMahon's charge making progress for the outing. Lyric Art looked particularly backward as a juvenile so we can expect more here. First Hand will be better once handicapped. Royal Crest was bred by the Cheveley Park stud but was sold out cheaply last May. Karta is the pick in a race where the priority of punting might just come behind that of watching.
Boss Hog 10-3fav (9-4) Led, ridden over 1f out, carried left and headed well inside final furlong, hampered close home, 2nd of 12, 2l behind Tender Process (9-4) at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Eastfields Lad 100-1 (9-10) Held up, always behind, 9th of 12, 15l behind Distant Pleasure (8-8) at Redcar 1m mdn aut stk (6) gf in Jun '07.
Sixth Zak 16-1 (9-3) In touch, ridden and improved 4f out, weakened and eased well over 1f out, 5th of 12, 23l behind West With The Wind (9-3) at Southwell 1m 4f mdn stk (5) fbs in Nov.
Duke of Urbino Medicean colt out of Nefeli.
Lively Blade 7-1 (8-11) Dwelt and hampered start, ran green behind, stayed on from over 1f out, 5th of 9, 10l behind Angel Song (8-6) at Southwell 6f mdn stk (5) fbs in Jan.
Royal Crest Royal Applause gelding out of Noble Lady.
Wahan (USA) 66-1 (9-3) Soon driven along and always in rear, 12th of 13, 10l behind Markyg (9-3) at Kempton 1m 2yo mdn (4) pol in Oct.
Ziggy Lee 50-1 (8-7) Awkward leaving stalls, pulled hard, soon led, ridden over 2f out, headed 1f out, weakened, 6th of 9, 7l behind Syrinx (8-2) at Kempton 7f mdn stk (5) pol in Jan.
First Hand 66-1 (8-3) In touch, ridden along over 3f out, soon beaten, 5th of 6, 19l behind Ultimate (8-8) at Southwell 1m mdn stk (5) fbs in Jan.
Hint of Honey 40-1 (8-0) Slowly away, behind, headway over 1f out, never nearer, 4th of 9, 1 1/2l behind Mafaheem (9-7) at Great Leighs 6f sll (5) pol in Jan.
Karta (IRE) Diktat filly out of Echo River.
Lyric Art (USA) 16-1 (9-0) Towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 14, 6l behind Enticement (9-0) at Nottingham 1m 2yo mdn fll (5) gs in Oct.
Ensnare 66-1 (9-13) Started slowly, soon mid-division, lost place on inside 2f out, no chance from over 1f out, 9th of 11, 10l behind Thief of Time (8-8) at Lingfield 1m mdn stk (5) pol in Jan.
Only Hope 66-1 (9-8) Chased leaders, reminders after 2f, driven over 2f out, kept on from over 1f out, 4th of 10, 8l behind Spiritual Healing (8-7) at Southwell 6f mdn stk (5) fbs.
