tracked leaders, ridden and kept on inside final furlong
tracked leader, ridden over 1f out, no extra towards finish
chased leaders to halfway, mid-division, not much room entering final furlong, eased when weakened towards finish
led, ridden 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
towards rear, headway on inner over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, just held near finish
in touch, ridden and headway 1f out, one pace when not much room inside final furlong
slowly into stride, towards rear, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong
in rear and pushed along, struggling from 2f out
tracked leaders, ridden to lead inside final, just held on
There's very little between Ebraam and LITTLE EDWARD here, with narrow preference for the last named. The key reason we're siding with George Baker's mount is his current wellbeing as this 12-year-old arrives on the back of a course and distance success, albeit in a race that he should have been winning. That was his first run of the year and we can expect a bit of improvement and this dual course and distance winner has landed the plot draw in stall one. Ebraam is a capable sort on his day as he showed when third in a good handicap a couple of starts back. At the weights he's got a pound in hand and Sean Curran's gelding has to be considered the biggest danger to our pick, but at today's distance - we think he's better off over six - we're just taking him on. The rest are a shade unfortunate to come up against a pair of horses theoretically a cut above, but at least Hinton Admiral is weighted to get close to Little Edward than when just a length behind last time and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that this significantly younger horse will reverse the form. Romantic Queen can show good speed and has a good draw so is another with place claims ahead of Chjimes who is surely best left until returning to Lingfield, whilst Don Pele is another we're happy to oppose under these conditions. In what should prove to be a match we'll side with the veteran Little Edward.
Ebraam (USA) 16-1 (9-1) Keen tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 9th of 15, 7l behind Getcarter (9-4) at Windsor 6f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in Apr.
Little Edward 5-6fav (9-9) Tracked leaders, effort between horses approaching final furlong, ridden and stayed on to lead towards finish (no time taken), won at Wolverhampton 5f clm stks (6) pol in Apr beating Ten Down (9-3) by 1/2l, 7 ran.
Hinton Admiral 8-1 (9-5) Held up in touch in rear, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, kept on same pace, 3rd of 7, 1l behind Little Edward (9-9) at Wolverhampton 5f clm stks (6) pol in Apr.
Harry Up 16-1 (8-10) Towards rear, ridden entering final furlong, soon weakened, last of 8, 8l behind Green Park (8-4) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Dec.
Best One 12-1 (9-1) In rear, ridden and wide into straight 2f out, never a factor, 4th of 7, 2 1/2l behind Little Edward (9-9) at Wolverhampton 5f clm stks (6) pol in Apr.
Chjimes (IRE) 14-1 (9-2) In touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on same pace, 6th of 11, 6l behind Tubby Isaacs (9-4) at Kempton 6f hacp 0-70 (5) pol in Apr.
Don Pele (IRE) 10-1 (9-0) Always in rear, 10th of 11, 9l behind Rough Rock (8-12) at Folkestone 6f app hcp 0-60 (6) gf in Apr.
Romantic Queen 14-1 (8-5) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, soon struggling, last of 11, 10l behind Tubby Isaacs (9-4) at Kempton 6f hacp 0-70 (5) pol in Apr.
Madame Bonaparte (IRE) 100-1 (8-12) Always behind, last of 13, 18l behind Edinburgh Knight (9-3) at Lingfield 7f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Feb.
Monte Mayor One 11-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 4th of 9, 8l behind Thaliwarru (9-0) at Leicester 6f 3yo sll (6) sft in Apr.