towards rear, never a factor
led, headed after 2f, remained in touch, driven over 2f out, ridden and one pace final furlong
prominent, ridden over 2f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong
never better than mid-division
prominent, pushed along halfway, ridden 2f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong
held up, headway on inner 3f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
prominent, reminders over 4f out, soon beaten
mid-division, driven over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
towards rear, never dangerous
held up, pushed along 3f out, driven and headway over 1f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong, kept on
The shortlist contains Chickado, Simply St Lucia and Roman Empire, with the vote going to Chickado. More on the selection later. Our starting point here was taking formlines that tie-in with horses called Stevedore and Amorist. Basically, this approach places Simply St Lucia just ahead of Sol Rojo, with Roman Empire held. All are well drawn today, and given that Roman Empire, who was three-and-a-half lengths behind the selection when they met last time, had been off for quite some time before that, then it would be no surprise to see him gain his revenge. On Turf form using Stevedore, Burnley Al has three of four lengths to find in order to play a leading part in today's race. Turning to the others, and Lowestoft Playboy is at least dropping in the weights now, Tizzy's Law is five pounds below a Folkestone winning mark but has failed to sparkle of late, Seldemosa was not far away from today's mark last time, and, more importantly for us, Chickado won over seven furlongs last time and, with that run having come after a break, there might be more to come at today's longer trip. Finally, Speakerboxxx failed to build on his course win last time, and if you take Amorist form literally then Quiet Reading comes out ahead of the horses that we have spoke about earlier. We might ultimately kick ourselves but the vote stays with Chickado.
Simply St Lucia 16-1 (9-2) Soon led, headed 3f out, ridden over 2f out, chased winner final furlong, 2nd of 14, 2l behind Stevedore (9-1) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Nov.
Roman Empire 8-1 (9-3) Held up behind leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 14, 6l behind Stevedore (9-1) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Nov.
Sol Rojo 9-1 (8-11) With winner, outpaced halfway, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on one pace, 4th of 13, 5l behind Amorist (8-5) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-65 (6) fbs.
Seldemosa 5-2fav (9-9) Held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on approaching final furlong, 4th of 13, 1l behind Qobtaan (9-13) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp (6) pol in Apr.
Ming Vase 6-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, soon ridden, weakened halfway, 7th of 10, 15l behind Chickado (8-4) at Southwell 7f hcp (6) fbs.
Speakerboxxx 7-2 (11-4) In touch, ridden and hung left over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 11, 11l behind We'll Meet Again (11-4) at Southwell 1m amt hcp (6) fbs in Nov.
Chickado (IRE) 10-1 (8-4) Went left start, chased leaders, ridden 2f out, led inside final furlong, ridden out, won at Southwell 7f hcp (6) fbs beating Doctor Dennis (8-11) by 2l, 10 ran.
Quiet Reading (USA) 9-1 (8-9) Mid-division, pushed along and headway over 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 14, 2l behind Amorist (9-4) at Southwell 1m hcp (6) fbs.
