slow into stride, towards rear, headway over 3f out, ridden and edged left over 1f out, led well inside final furlong, ran on
keen, held up mid-division, ridden over 4f out, weakened 2f out
led, headed over 4f out, soon ridden, no extra final furlong
in touch for 3f
close up, led over 4f out, hard-ridden over 1f out, headed well inside final furlong, kept on close home
mid-division, soon ridden, beaten at halfway
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, switched right when beaten 2f out
held up in touch, ridden over 4f out, chased leader over 2f out, soon weakened
The Southwell 3:25, a classified stakes race over a mile, looks a bit more wide open than the earlier races on the card. Pays d¿Amour, Brilliantrio, Brandy Cove and Digger all have claims, while the consistent My Bayard will no doubt make a bold bid to be in the first two again. Brandy Cove is a course and distance winner and was a beaten favourite here when finding the useful Alchemist Master too much of a handful. He will not always come up against an opponent of that caliber on the fibresand, and must go close on what is his eighth visit to the track. Brilliantrio, well treated these days on her best form, found seven furlongs on the sharp side last time, but ran well for a 50-1 shot and will be nowhere near that sort of price. She can go close from her low draw, but Digger despite obvious claims, might just struggle from his outside berth. Pays d¿Amour has not won since his days with Richard Hannon, but since moving north to Dandy Nichols, has dropped further and further down the handicap. An eyecatching fifth over seven furlongs here last time, he looks set to make an impact over this trip. The dam was successful over a mile and it could be payback time for backers of Pay d¿ Amour.
