held up mid-division, headway under pressure over 2f out, ridden and ran on well final furlong, just failed
towards rear, close up halfway, ridden and kept on one pace final 2f, never nearer
led, clear over 3f out, ridden 2f out, headed and no extra well inside final furlong
never better than mid-division
chased leaders, outpaced 4f out, weakened over 2f out
held up in rear, headway over 3f out, ridden to chase leader 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
behind until kept on final 2f, never dangerous
chased leader, lost place 3f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out
chased leaders to over 3f out, soon weakened
chased leaders, driven along 2f out, weakened over 1f out
behind, driven and headway over 3f out, ridden 2f out, stayed on well under pressure to lead well inside final furlong, all out
behind from halfway, soon tailed off, virtually pulled up
A tricky race to get proceedings under way may be won by topweight Trouble Mountain, with Penwell Hill, Captain Ginger, Smoothie and Night Warrior others to consider. None of the 15 runners have shown too much of late although Smoothie was successful at Wolverhampton before bombing out badly on a return to Dunstall Park. Trouble Mountain's last win came at Beverley in July, and since then Mick Easterby's charge has taken on decent company on turf. At the age of six he had his first taste of the sand when finishing sixth of 17 over the course and distance three weeks ago on what was his first outing for a month, and with improvement to come, he should at least make a bold bid. Penwell Hill in contrast is having his eighth consecutive outing here, but seems to have been anchored by the handicapper since his purple patch last January. Captain Ginger is owned by Her Majesty The Queen and was successful off a mark of 81 at Warwick as a juvenile. Night Warrior is six-pound higher than then scoring over the track and trip in September but is worth considering for a place as well. In a race in which bets are best kept to a minimum, Trouble Mountain is a tentative selection.