ridden 2f out, headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
held up, ridden 2f out, edged left over 1f out, no impression
keen, tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on towards finish
raced wide in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, soon edged right, headed well inside final furlong
keen with leader, ridden and every chance over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong
in rear, pushed along over 3f out, headway on wide outside approaching final furlong, ridden to lead well inside final furlong, won going away
ESPRIT DE MIDAS is our call ahead of Premier Lad and Rare Art. Kevin Ryan's charge won a couple of weak races during the winter in style and although this is the toughest race he's been involved in thus far, he has shaped as if he does have a touch of class about him. Premier Lad won his maiden at the course and was not disgraced in his first handicap as the time figure was decent. Rare Art has been busy on the turf. He won on heavy going at Nottingham so the odds are that he is likely to handle this surface. Pipers Piping won a weak claimer at Wolverhampton and faces a tougher task today. West Leake is still a maiden but with Barry Hills' team in such splendid form, he should not be dismissed lightly. This is the race of the day at Southwell and Espirit Des Midas can live up to top billing.
Esprit de Midas 1-4fav (10-2) Tracked leader, led over 2f out, ridden and edged right over 1f out, driven out, won at Southwell 7f 3yo hcp (6) fbs in Feb beating Dancing Wave (8-11) by 3l, 6 ran.
Rare Art 9-2fav (9-3) Raced stands side, tracked leaders, ridden to lead 1f out, headed close home, 3rd of 12, 3/4l behind The Winged Assasin (9-1) at Folkestone 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Premier Lad 13-8fav (8-12) Held up in touch, driven and headway over 1f out, soon ridden to challenge, no extra final furlong, 2nd of 4, nk behind Fesko (9-4) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Feb.
Pipers Piping (IRE) 9-1 (9-0) Led 1f, chased leader, edged left approaching final furlong, ridden and ran on to lead well inside final furlong, won at Wolverhampton 6f 3yo clm stks (6) pol beating Simple Rhythm (8-4) by 1l, 7 ran.
Captain Kallis (IRE) 9-2 (9-3) Held up, headway on inner over 2f, driven over 1f, edged right approaching final furlong, weakened inside, 6th of 9, 3 1/2l behind Spiritual Art (9-3) at Southwell 6f 2yo hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Dec.
West Leake (IRE) 7-1 (8-11) Pulled hard in touch, ridden over 2f out, kept on one pace, 6th of 15, 4l behind Cornish Castle (9-8) at Nottingham 1m 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) gf.