keen in touch, headway 4f out, led on bit inside final furlong easy
close up, ridden to chase leaders over 4f out, weakened 3f out
in touch, headway 5f out, led 4f out, hard ridden over 2f out, headed inside final furlong
prominent, led 10f out, ridden 5f out, headed 4f out, one pace
mid-division, ridden halfway, no impression
prominent, led after 2f, headed 10f out, weakened 4f out
led for 2f, stayed in touch until weakened over 4f out
in rear and reluctant to race, always well behind
mid-division, ridden over 4f out, soon beaten
mid-division, ridden from halfway, never nearer
towards rear, some progress and never better than finishing position
mid-division, closer order 6f out, weakened over 3f out
held up rear, progress halfway, ridden and outpaced 5f out, ridden and stayed on to chase leading trio from over 2f out
tracked leaders, weakened quickly 6f out
It is hard to get a handle on most of these so we will suggest Saunders Road ahead of Pangbourne, Principe Azzurro and Lord Ryeford. From a good stable, the selection, who is by King's Theatre, has a likeable profile for this type of race and, especially if the market vibe is good, gets the call. Noel Chance does well in these races and Aux le Bahnn is respected. Lord Ryeford made an encouraging Hereford debut and is entitled to respect, and Northern Endeavour was just ahead of him that day so has to be considered too, while Principe Azzurro showed plenty of promise on his Sandown debut last season. Ian Williams' pair Keenan's Future and Dallas Alice, who showed promise at Market Rasen, Alan King's Pangbourne, Jim Old's Top Ram, Mark Rimell's The Beaming Bandit, Venetia Williams' Fast Forward, Nigel Twiston Davies' pair Beat The Boys and Mister Notorious, are among those to like on breeding or worth having a look at in the betting where relatively little is known beforehand. That said, we have to make a choice, and that is Saunders Road.
Aux Le Bahnn (IRE) Won at Dromahane 3m ire ptp sft in Nov beating My Patch by 10l, 12 ran.
Beat The Boys (IRE) Portrait Gallery gelding, half-brother to three winners including bumper Hang Seng.
Fast Forward (NZ) Grosvenor gelding out of Abachi.
Keenan's Future (IRE) Won at Clonmel 3m ire ptp sft in Feb beating Humbel Baird by 10l, 7 ran.
Mister Notorious (IRE) 10-1 (11-7) Held up, 6th and headway 4f out, moderate 2nd 2f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 16, 7l behind Guantama Bay (12-0) at Roscommon 2m nhf gs in Oct '04.
Northern Endeavour 10-1 (10-13) Led 2f, prominent, ridden over 3f out, one pace final furlong, 3rd of 14, 3 1/2l behind Legal Glory (10-11) at Hereford 2m 1f mdn nhf (H) gd in Nov.
Principe Azzurro (FR) 12-1 (10-4) Held up in rear, steady headway from 3f out, kept on final 2f, never nearer, 4th of 15, 11l behind Mendo (11-2) at Sandown 2m nhf (H) gs in Feb.
Saunders Road (IRE) King's Theatre gelding out of Flat and hurdles winner Shaunies Lady.
