chased leaders, ridden 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, no impression
with leader, led over 3f out, ridden and ran on well final furlong
held up, ridden and not clear run over 1f out, switched right and kept on final furlong
prominent, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
led, headed over 3f out, still every chance over 2f out, weakened 1f out
Muy Bien comes here in decent form after just hanging on for victory at Windsor on Monday and is taken to follow up from Distant Times. The selection did well in a big field at Windsor and can dominate this handful of runners on a surface on which he is now proven. That could be the key to the contest, as the ability to handle soft ground will be vital and while he was hanging on the other day and does also have a penalty to contend with, nothing that we have seen from his opponents stands out as a better alternative. Distant Times ran well over the trip in four starts last summer but did not cope so well with a step up to seven furlongs at Doncaster last month. He will be better now he is dropped back, but he has yet to handle conditions so testing and so is opposed. Of the others, Tyzack failed to get home on softer ground at Catterick in November, while La Landonne starts on turf for the first time after a Lingfield win in December, while Senor Bond will also appreciate the drop in trip but is unproven on the surface. The selection then, is Muy Bien.
