chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, driven to lead near line
in rear, headway halfway, stayed on final furlong, not reached leaders
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, soon weakened and eased
outpaced, never troubled leaders
led, ridden and headed halfway, soon weakened
dwelt and outpaced, headway 2f out, never dangerous
chased leaders, ridden to lead halfway, headed 2f out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden over 2f out, kept on one pace final furlong
chased leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, driven and headed near line
prominent, ridden over 2f out, soon driven and weakened
KENSINGTON has been dropped a very handy 6lbs by the handicapper and can take advantage in this competitive heat, while Charles Parnell, Musical Script and River Thames can get involved in the shake-up. The selection is arguably slightly more effective at 7f, but he has won a couple of times over this trip, and more importantly he is very effective on this surface. He has won four times from higher marks than this and in receipt of weight from all his opponents he looks to have another good opportunity here. Charles Parnell scored over course and distance last time and is now 5lb higher. He stayed on well that day and does love it here, though he will now need a career best to follow it up. Musical Script has won three of his last six and his yard is going well with its few recent runners. However, he is 7lb higher than his best winning mark and that, coupled with his preference for the Polytrack means that we oppose today. The surface might also be an issue for River Thames, who was well beaten when tried here on two previous occasions, while he also looked anchored from this mark at Lingfield last time. Don Pele has his first try on this surface, so has to prove he handles it, and he is on an attractive mark based on some of his old form, but perhaps his current rating is just as good as he is now and we won't be rushing to wager. Resplendent Alpha is 6lb higher than when scoring here in January but he has gone well fresh in the past and a win is not ruled out. Only A Game looks a shade too high in the weights for now and we'll put up Kensington as the selection.
Charles Parnell (IRE) 3-1jt-fav (9-2) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, driven to lead inside final furlong, kept on well, won at Southwell 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs beating Westwood (8-11) by 1 1/2l, 13 ran.
Resplendent Alpha 8-1 (8-11) Steady start, ridden and headway on inside over 1f out, kept on, 4th of 11, 3l behind Internationaldebut (9-6) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Only A Game (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Chased leaders on outside, lost place 2f out, soon weakened, eased final furlong, last of 10, 33l behind Moonage Daydream (7-13) at Redcar 6f 3yo hcp (4) gs in Aug.
He's A Humbug (IRE) 16-1 (8-2) Chased leaders, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong, 8th of 10, 8l behind Turn On The Style (9-7) at Southwell 5f hcp 0-95 (3) fbs.
Loose Caboose (IRE) 25-1 (9-3) Led, headed 4f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out, last of 11, 22l behind Resplendent Alpha (9-2) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Musical Script (USA) 2-1fav (8-12) Held up, good headway on inside 2f out, chased leading pair over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, looked held when nowhere to go near finish, 3rd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Bookiesindex Boy (8-12) at Kempton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Steel City Boy (IRE) 4-1 (8-13) Dwelt, tracking leaders when short of room 2f out, no extra inside final furlong, 5th of 9, 3l behind Canadian Danehill (9-4) at W'hampton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
River Thames 4-1 (8-6) Behind, made some late headway, never dangerous, 6th of 11, 6l behind The Game (9-6) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-80 (4) pol.
Don Pele (IRE) 12-1 (8-6) Soon bustled along in touch, headway on outside over 1f out, driven and ran on inside final furlong, went 2nd final 50 yards, no chance with winner, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Little Edward (9-5) at Lingfield 6f clm (6) pol.
Kensington (IRE) 9-2 (9-5) Taken to post early, held up in touch, ridden and switched left over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 13, 4l behind Captain Macarry (9-3) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs.
