led after 1f, soon steadied pace, quickened pace 4f out, ridden, headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up in rear, lost touch 4f out, eased final 2f
held up, ridden 2f out, never dangerous
close up, pushed along 2f out, soon every chance, led well inside final furlong, ran on
in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, soon edged left
led 1f, chased leader after, ridden 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong
stumbled start, slowly away, held up in last place, ridden over 2f out, never troubled leaders
Trick Or Treat, Red Admiral and Stretton are the three for the shortlist here and we will give the confident vote to the last mentioned. The selection is in really good heart at present and he ran a blinder last time when finishing second behind London Express at York. He goes on the ground and at the forecast odds he looks to represent excellent value. Trick Or Treat is the obvious danger as she has won her last five races. However, she was all-out to score last time and the suspicion is that the handicapper may be beginning to catch up with her. Red Admiral could not have been any more impressive when winning at Salisbury last time out but that was over a year ago and the worry is that he may just need the run today. Free To Air is a course and distance winner and may prove best of the remainder, but Stretton deserves to get his head in front and gets our vote today.
Red Admiral (USA) 11-2 (9-4) Led, hung right from over 2f out, ridden clear over 1f out, unchallenged, won at Salisbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp (4) gs in Aug '05 beating Chocolate Caramel (9-5) by 6l, 9 ran.
El Tiger (GER) 33-1 (8-12) Always in rear and struggling over 2f out, last of 13, 25l behind Fairmile (8-9) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Jun.
Stretton (IRE) 16-1 (8-12) Held up, headway over 4f out, ridden over 1f out, every chance final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 19, hd behind London Express (8-12) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) gs in Aug.
Crime Scene (IRE) 12-1 (9-0) Prominent, ridden over 3f out, every chance 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 16th of 19, 11l behind London Express (8-12) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) gs in Aug.
Trick Or Treat 9-2 (8-3) Held up, hung right over 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, edged left and headed inside final furlong, rallied to regain lead post, won at York 1m 6f 3yo hcp (2) sft in Aug beating Ask (8-13) by a shd, 7 ran.
Cavallini (USA) 66-1 (9-7) Led 3f, stayed prominent until weakened 2f out, 9th of 12, 11l behind Stoop To Conquer (9-4) at Newbury 1m 5f hcp 0-90 (3) gd in Aug.
Free To Air 14-1 (8-9) Always mid-division, 8th of 11, 8l behind Oh Glory Be (8-7) at Salisbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp (3) gd in Jun.
Into The Shadows 16-1 (8-9) Held up in rear, ridden, headway over 2f out, kept on one pace, 6th of 9, 8l behind Frank Sonata (9-0) at Nottingham 1m 6f lst stk (1) sft in Apr.
Diktatorial 9-1 (10-10) Held up, headway over 2f out, stayed on under pressure final furlong, 4th of 14, 1 1/2l behind Rationale (9-5) at Bath 1m 4f ldy rds hcp (3) gf in Aug.
Desert Cristal (IRE) 14-1 (9-11) Close up on outer, ridden 2f out, losing place when hampered inside final 2f, 5th of 9, 8l behind Warsaw Pact (8-6) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jul.
