slowly into stride, raced wide and soon outpaced
tracked leaders, ridden halfway, one pace from over 1f out
made all, ridden 2f out, soon edged left, driven out
slowly into stride, soon outpaced and tailed off
ridden along in rear after 1f, driven and headway over 1f out, stayed on under strong pressure to take 2nd post
mid-division, ridden halfway, soon weakened
chased winner until over 2f out, ridden and weakened
towards rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
mid-division, ridden and weakened halfway
Ponting holds the key to this maiden but he's likely to be pretty short so we'll take a chance with INTHAWAIN. Ponting stands head and shoulders above this field with a BHA rating of 73 but there has to be some debate as to whether he merits that mark. He began the season on a mark of 64 which proved beyond him in four starts in handicaps and he was rated just 57 when lining up in a Windsor maiden last time. He finished second to a rival rated 83 and in front of a filly who took a handicap from 72 next time and his mark has risen 16lbs as a result. If the handicapper is right then he wins but there must be some doubt about that given his profile prior to that run at Windsor. Therefore, we'll take a chance with Inthawain who has a mountain to climb on the bare figures with a rating of just 57 but she's finished in the money on all three visits to the track and makes plenty of each-way appeal as a consequence. There isn't an awful lot to commend any of the remainder as one might expect in a race of this nature but Catchpenny hasn't had too many chances and may improve for cheekpieces whilst Verinco would have claims on the pick of his efforts. However, Inthawain makes far more appeal as an each-way option against the jolly, Ponting.
Dolly No Hair 66-1 (9-0) In touch, led after 2f, headed 2f out, soon ridden and lost place, weakened final furlong, 6th of 13, 16l behind Skysurfers (9-3) at Southwell 7f mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Oct.
Pocket's Pick (IRE) 22-1 (8-6) Led, headed narrowly over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 9, 7l behind Simple Rhythm (8-0) at Lingfield 6f 3yo app hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Sep.
Ponting (IRE) 10-1 (9-0) Led, ridden 2f out, headed and one pace inside final furlong, 2nd of 12, 2l behind Hajoum (9-3) at Windsor 6f mdn stks (5) gf in Oct.
Verinco 10-1 (9-3) Mid-division, ridden and outpaced 2f out, weakened final furlon, 8th of 11, 10l behind Hawkeyethenoo (8-10) at Ayr 5f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Oct.
Beaux Yeux 50-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden and lost place over 2f out, 8th of 11, 13l behind Justonefortheroad (9-3) at Redcar 7f mdn stks (5) gf in Sep.
Catchpenny 12-1 (8-12) Behind and soon outpaced, ridden 3f out, never dangerous, 7th of 13, 18l behind Skysurfers (9-3) at Southwell 7f mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Oct.
Inthawain 16-1 (8-11) Slowly into stride, behind, never dangerous, 6th of 8, 10l behind Hawkeyethenoo (8-8) at Musselburgh 5f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) gf in Sep.
Shining Times (IRE) 20-1 (8-8) Chased leaders, driven halfway, weakened over 1f out, last of 8, 13l behind Hawkeyethenoo (8-8) at Musselburgh 5f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) gf in Sep.
Sweet Kiss (USA) 33-1 (8-2) Chased leaders over 3f, 11th of 14, 17l behind Kingswinford (8-11) at Windsor 6f clm stks (6) gd in Oct.
Valentine Bay 100-1 (8-12) Led, headed over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 7th of 8, 29l behind Bennelong (9-3) at Southwell 1m mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Oct.
Nimmy's Special 20-1 (8-8) Close up halfway, one pace, 3rd of 12, 3l behind Future Gem (9-0) at Ayr 6f 3yo hcp 0-60 (6) sft in Aug.
