towards rear, soon chased along, headway on inner 2f out, stayed on final furlong
in touch, pushed along halfway, ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong
prominent, pushed along over 2f out, ridden when weakening over 1f out
prominent, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and one pace final furlong
mid-division, driven over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
led, headed 3f out, soon beaten
towards rear, never a factor
mid-division, effort over 2f out, no impression
slowly into stride and towards rear, headway when not much room 2f out, stayed on final furlong
never better than mid-division
prominent, led 3f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
prominent, effort over 2f out, weakened final furlong
mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on gamely final furlong
In this low-grade race, we will side with Scuba ahead of Set Alight and, possibly, Elsie Hart. A five-times course and distance winner, Set Alight clearly loves it here and, even though a six-pounds penalty for a recent win makes life a little trickier, she can go well. She is closely weighted with Preskani based on that run. Bijou Dan's penalised recent win came in a seller, and Resplendent Prince is only six pounds better off for six lengths based on the form of that race. Magic Amour's recent good form has come in sellers and banded races, and he is closely weighted with Roman Empire based on recent form, and neither can be ruled out. Shrine Mountain looks held based on that form. A year ago Pawn In Life would have held good claims but could not be so strongly fancied based on recent form, but Scuba looks to be on the up based on his Wolverhampton win last time and, even though he has a penalty to carry, can go well. Penwell Hill is capable off this type of mark, but only occasionally consents to put his best foot forward these days. A market move for Elsie Hart would be interesting following a better effort last time, and Bogaz is back to a winning mark from December 2004 but lacks a recent run. Dudley Docker is competitively weighted based on his best summer Turf form and could go well, and Golden Square might sneak a place. Overall, though, we will stick with Scuba.
Set Alight 9-2 (9-3) Chased leaders, ridden to lead 2f out, ran on well, won at Southwell 7f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs beating Lucius Verrus (8-9) by 1 1/2l, 10 ran.
Bijou Dan 5-1 (9-4) Dwelt, raced wide in rear, headway over 1f out, led inside last, ran on, won at Southwell 7f sll (6) fbs beating Mount Royale (8-12) by 2l, 8 ran.
Resplendent Prince 5-2 (9-4) Chased leader, ridden and every chance over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 8, 6l behind Bijou Dan (9-4) at Southwell 7f sll (6) fbs.
Magic Amour 7-4fav (9-4) Prominent, led over 3f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 4th of 12, 2l behind Million Percent (8-13) at W'hampton 6f sll (6) pol.
Scuba (IRE) 7-2jt-fav (9-2) Made all, ridden over 1f out, ran on well, won at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Rowan Warning (9-1) by 1l, 11 ran.
Preskani 10-1 (8-13) In touch, ridden 3f out, headway and switched left over 1f out, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 10, 2 1/2l behind Set Alight (9-3) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs.
Golden Square 11-4fav (8-12) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, stayed on towards finish, 4th of 13, 8l behind Chicken Soup (9-1) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Jan.
Roman Empire 4-1jt-fav (9-3) Held up, ridden 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 10th of 13, 11l behind Zorn (8-8) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs.
