slowly into stride, in rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression
raced wide, held up, ridden and weakened 2f out
in touch, ridden over 2f out, led inside final furlong, ran on
slowly into stride, in rear, pulled up over 2f out
tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
led, ridden 2f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on
INTO WAIN ran an eye-catching race on debut and can find the requisite improvement to score, with Spice Affair and The Great Husk those most likely to pose a threat. David Simcock's colt was no match for a Mark Johnston hotpot on debut, but as that winner has since gone on to score in handicap company by some 15-lengths off a mark of 72 the strength of the form is there for all to see. That effort came at Lingfield but this track shouldn't pose a problem for the US-bred three-year-old and normal progression should see him home in front with a bit to spare. Spice Affair is another to have caught the eye on debut and perhaps the drop down to seven furlongs was against him last time, so he's worth considering although our selection might just improve to a level he can't reach. The Great Husk carries the highest official rating of 64 but that doesn't look to set much of a standard and he's had his chances, although he might have enough to hold Danderek in the predicted battle for third. Richard Fahey's gelding hasn't shown much so far but this slight drop in distance can help and he may get closer to the leaders this time. Premier League travelled in a manner that belied his 66/1 odds on debut before finding less than appeared likely, but he's sure to have learned plenty from that experience and could once again outrun his likely odds, although he'd have been more interest over a slightly shorter distance. Neither Jobekani nor Cruise Control offer anything to recommend them and this looks a feasible opportunity for Into Wain to go one better than he did on debut.
Cruise Control 150-1 (9-13) Always in rear, 6th of 7, 15l behind Ghazwah (8-6) at Southwell 6f mdn stks (5) fbs in Jan.
Danderek 7-2 (8-6) Behind, outpaced over 3f out, soon weakened, tailed off, 6th of 7, 41l behind Mehendi (8-8) at Southwell 1m 3f app mdn stks (6) fbs in Jan.
Jobekani (IRE) 33-1 (8-9) Wide, in touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out, 8th of 12, 15l behind Grey Command (9-0) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (0-55) (6) pol in Jan.
Into Wain (USA) 2-1 (9-3) Held up in touch, driven and headway over 2f out, ran on final furlong, no chance with winner, 2nd of 7, 5l behind Greyfriarschorista (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 3yo mdn auc stks (5) pol in Jan.
Premier League 66-1 (8-8) In rear, headway over 1f out, kept on inside last, no extra towards finish, 8th of 11, 3l behind Highland Bridge (8-8) at Kempton 7f mdn auc stks (5) pol in Jan.
Spice Fair 9-2 (8-12) Towards rear, headway over 2f out, soon ridden and no further progress, 6th of 9, 7l behind Cuthbert (9-3) at Lingfield 7f 2yo mdn stks (6) in Dec.
The Great Husk (IRE) 11-4 (8-8) Tracked leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed just inside final furlong, soon outpaced by winner, 2nd of 7, 6l behind Riviera Chic (8-13) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
