held up towards rear, short lived effort on inside over 1f out
always behind
behind, last when hampered just inside final furlong and soon eased
towards rear, came wide into straight, ridden and edged inside final furlong, not pace to challenge
held up, in touch, headway 2f out, ridden and edged left over 1f out, led inside final furlong, driven out
soon in mid-division, pushed along over 2f out, headway approaching final furlong, stayed on to take 2nd towards finish
mid-division, ridden over 2f out, soon no impression
held up in touch, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
chased leaders, switched left over 1f out, stayed on same pace well inside final furlong
soon chasing leader, ridden 2f out, weakened over 1f out
led, pushed along over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, unable to quicken, and lost second towards finish
An open contest where STAR CHOICE just gets the nod ahead of Little Richard and Calzaghe. The selection has some good form to his name, including a nine furlong win in October. Stepped up in trip since then, he has failed to add to his tally, but he has nonetheless been very competitive over this sort of trip and from similar marks. Now visored for the first time by the still-in-form Jeff Pearce he may be good enough to win again. Little Richard has enjoyed 12 of his 14 career victories here and is equally adept at both this trip and 1m 6f. He looks sure to run a good race again, but probably needs to be dropped a few pounds to win again. Calzaghe has won from a higher mark than this on turf and from 3lbs lower here over course and distance. His recent form, however, has perhaps not been warm enough to see him winning today. Pelham Crescent steps back up in trip from nine furlongs and that is not likely to be to his advantage so we'll take him on, while course and distance scorers Bedouin Blue, Summer Lodge and Buscador all look to be in need of a favour from the assessor and we'll side with Star Choice.
Jago (SWI) 16-1 (9-5) Held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 8th of 14, 12l behind Bell Island (9-7) at Lingfield 1m 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Feb.
Bedouin Blue (IRE) 16-1 (9-1) In rear, ridden 3f out, headway under pressure from over 1f out, kept on to go 3rd inside final furlong, 3rd of 7, 8l behind Eseej (9-10) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs.
Calzaghe (IRE) 7-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, no chance with front trio, 4th of 11, 11l behind Laurel Creek (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Feb.
Cash On (IRE) 33-1 (9-5) Always behind, tailed off 3f out, last of 11, well behind Apache Fort (9-9) at W'hampton 1m 4f app clm (6) pol in Oct.
Star Choice 7-2fav (9-9) Mid-division, improved 3rd 10f out, ridden over 3f out, switched right over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 8, 8l behind Irish Ballad (9-4) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Drawn Gold 7-2fav (9-3) Slowly into stride, towards rear, not much room on inside over 6f out, soon pushed along, hard ridden over 1f out, never dangerous, 8th of 13, 9l behind Templetuohy Max (9-1) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Little Richard (IRE) 18-1 (8-13) Mid-division, headway on outer over 1f out, finished well inside final furlong, closed on leaders near finish, 4th of 12, 1l behind Sunset Boulevard (8-13) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Jan.
Urban Warrior 12-1 (8-8) Slowly into stride, always rear, ridden and outpaced final 2f, never dangerous, 7th of 8, 9l behind Brouhaha (8-10) at W'hampton 1m 1f app hcp (5) pol in Feb.
Pelham Crescent (IRE) 15-2 (8-8) Chased leader, led 5f out, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, unable to quicken, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Agilete (8-10) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Feb.
Summer Lodge 8-1 (8-10) In touch, led over 7f, headed 3f out, soon beaten, 7th of 10, 13l behind Il Grande Ardone (8-13) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Dec.
Buscador (USA) 10-1 (10-10) Chased leaders, joined leader over 7f out, ridden to lead 3f out, headed over 2f out, soon weakened, 7th of 11, 30l behind Augustus John (11-4) at W'hampton 1m 6f amt hcp (5) pol.
Lunar Promise (IRE) 10-3 (8-10) Held up, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 10, 13l behind Quick Off The Mark (8-7) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec.
