held up in rear, headway under strong pressure on outside over 2f out, driven and stayed on inside final furlong, went 2nd last strides
always towards rear, ridden over 4f out, soon weakened
mid-division, headway to lead 3f out, hung left and headed 2f out, weakened over 1f out
mid-division, driven along 4f out, soon outpaced
held up in rear, driven along 4f out, stayed on final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders
chased leaders, ridden 4f out, soon behind
mid-division, pushed along 3f out, soon weakened
prominent, driven along 2f out, weakened over 1f out
soon chasing leaders, ridden and outpaced over 3f out, rallied to press winner inside final 2f, driven and every chance over 1f out, held inside final furlong, lost 2nd last stride
in touch, pushed along 4f out, soon lost touch, tailed off
led to over 7f out, stayed prominent, hard ridden to lead 2f out, driven and stayed on well throughout final furlong
soon chased leaders, led over 7f out, headed and bumped 3f out, weakened just inside final 2f
always in rear
always in rear
slowly into stride, behind, driven over 2f out, plugged on
A difficult but competitive handicap wraps up proceedings here and STRONG STORM looks like blowing away closest rivals El Bravo and Persian Memories. The selection cost connections 170,000gns as a 2yo and, having been too green to do himself justice at Newmarket on debut, he put that behind him last time and went some way towards justifying connections high opinion of him. His half-brother Bay Story won twice over 12f so he'll be seen to better effect here and he looks to have plenty more to offer. El Bravo was a winner at Wolverhampton last time and proved he has the speed and the stamina for this trip. It was however a rather weak maiden but a repeat performace should see him at least make the frame here. Persion Memoires stands out from the rest of this large field. The filly has not been seen since October but is one of the the most experienced in the field. Her official mark of 71 provides a benchmark to the form and she may be up there with the front runners today. Market check is advised for the rest but recent good form is non existent so it¿s Strong Storm who gets the verdict.
El Bravo 11-10fav (8-8) Held up, headway 5f out, led well over 1f out, soon edged left and ridden clear, ran on well, won at Wolverhampton 1m 4f mdn auc stks (5) pol beating Isabelonabicycle (9-6) by 8l, 9 ran.
Blue Tango (IRE) 10-1 (9-3) Held up, ridden 2f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 8, 8l behind Badge Of Honour (9-1) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar.
Strong Storm (USA) 4-1 (9-3) Close up, ridden to chase leader over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, quickened to lead final strides, won at Lingfield 1m 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Jan beating Badge Of Honour (9-3) by nk, 11 ran.
Sgt Roberts (IRE) 11-1 (9-3) Tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, no extra final furlong, 5th of 9, 4l behind Eastern Aria (9-4) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Mar.
Penang Princess 10-1 (8-10) Steadied rear, still last and pushed along over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, never able to challenge, 4th of 8, 2 1/4l behind Haakima (8-10) at Kempton 1m mdn fll (5) pol in Mar.
Some Time Good (IRE) 4-1 (8-4) Tracked winner 9f out, carried wide bend 2f out, soon ridden, effort when hung left inside final furlong, 4th of 8, 3 1/2l behind Sehoy (8-4) at Lingfield 1m 4f mdn stks (5) pol in Mar.
Persian Memories (IRE) 11-2 (9-0) Slowly into stride, soon tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, kept on approaching final furlong, 4th of 8, 6l behind Wajaha (9-0) at Great Leighs 1m 2yo mdn fll (4) pol in Oct.
Abulharith 16-1 (8-8) Held up in touch, ridden over 3f out, no headway final 2f, 6th of 9, 6l behind Bin End (8-8) at Leicester 1m 2f mdn stks (5) gf.
Admirable Duque (IRE) 100-1 (8-4) Prominent, ridden 2f out, driven and no extra final furlong, 7th of 14, 9l behind Definightly (9-7) at Doncaster 7f 2yo hcp (3) gd in Oct.
Merton Lad 10-3 (9-0) Held up in 4th, reminders over 4f out, ridden hung right and not looked keen over 2f out, one pace after, 5th of 7, 4l behind Supernoverre (9-1) at Kempton 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Mar.
Chiberta King 33-1 (8-12) Prominent, ridden 3f out, weakened 1f out, 6th of 7, 18l behind Cityscape (8-12) at Salisbury 1m 2yo nov stk (4) gd in Sep.
Dalrymple (IRE) 10-1 (8-11) Steadied start, soon tracked leader, led over 6f out, hanging left from over 2f out, stayed on gamely when pressed inside final furlong, held on well near finish, won at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo clm (5) gd beating Flying Lady (8-6) by hd, 8 ran.
Tropical Duke (IRE) 33-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden and effort over 2f out, ran wide straight, not quicken, soon weakened, 7th of 10, 5l behind Signella (8-12) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Jan.
Cooper Island Kid (USA) 100-1 (9-0) Led until over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 14, 5l behind Captain Dancer (9-0) at Newmarket 7f 2yo mdn (4) gs in Oct.
First Spirit 16-1 (8-11) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, no impression over 1f out, 5th of 8, 2 1/4l behind Dalrymple (8-11) at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo clm (5) gd.
