chased leaders, weakened over 2f out
led, ridden and headed 2f out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden to lead 2f out, headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
chased leaders, weakened over 2f out
held up towards rear, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 2f out
held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in touch, weakened over 2f out
held up, ridden and headway on outer over 2f out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden over 4f out, one pace
chased leaders, weakened well over 1f out
chased leaders, outpaced over 1f out
slowly into stride, towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, chased winner inside final furlong, stayed on
held up, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, driven out
prominent, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, tailed off and eased final furlong
Preskani gets a narrow vote over Frenchgate, Aqua and Virginia Plain. There are so many duck-eggs on view here that even any semblance of placed form is like gold dust. With that in mind, we shall plump for Preskani who has won three times here in the past. He has slipped down to a fair mark, and his third to Dispol Pete in May was a big improvement on anything that he had shown during three previous outings. Hopefully he will be fit enough to do himself justice after a six-month break, and gets a modest vote. Frenchgate was selling class on Turf and now tries the Fibresand for the first time so is worth taking on, while Aqua is very inconsistent at best. Virginia Plain was tailed off when tried in a Listed race at Ascot, but connections were definitely tilting at windmills that day, and this is more her level, although she is still a maiden and is another untried on the surface. Another shocker can go to Preskani.
Aqua 6-1 (8-11) Tracked leader, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 11th of 13, 12l behind Komreyev Star (9-2) at Musselburgh 1m 1f banded stk (7) gs.
Cross My Shadow (IRE) 13-2 (8-8) Led 2f, led again over 3f out, headed over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 12, 8l behind Danettie (8-12) at Lingfield 1m banded stk (7) pol in Dec.
Frenchgate 8-1 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden along over 3f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 17, 10l behind Second Reef (9-1) at Redcar 1m 2f sll (6) frm in Sept.
Preskani 5-1jt-fav (8-9) Chased leaders, outpaced over 4f out, rallied 3f out, ridden over 2f out, flashed tail and weakened final furlong, 3rd of 14, 7l behind Dispol Peto (8-9) at Southwell 1m app hcp (6) fbs in May.
Sea Frolic (IRE) 66-1 (8-3) Held up in touch, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out, 9th of 10, 9l behind Torquemada (9-0) at Leicester 7f hcp 0-70 (5) gf in Sept.
Wodhill Be 50-1 (8-8) Always in rear, 12th of 15, 15l behind Megalala (8-6) at Brighton 7f clm (6) gs in Sept.
Machhapuchhare 16-1 (7-13) Slowly into stride, soon chasing leaders, weakened over 2f out, 12th of 13, 13l behind Hurry Up Helen (8-13) at Brighton 1m 2f 3yo hcp (6) gf in Sept.
Virginia Plain 100-1 (8-10) Bumped start, held up, ridden halfway, soon struggling, last of 12, well behind Makderah (8-10) at Ascot 7f lst fll stk (1) gs in Sept.