tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, soon beaten
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, chased winner inside final furlong, kept on
held up, ridden over 2f out, no impression
held up, steadied start, ridden over 2f out, stayed on from over 1f out, not reach leaders
tracked leaders, went 2nd over 4f out, led 2f out, edged left approaching final furlong, kept on
soon led and keen, clear 6f out, ridden over 2f out, soon headed and one pace final furlong
towards rear, effort and no impression over 2f out, eased final furlong
Steig is marginally preferred to Encores and Putra Laju in a tight opening to proceedings. The selection has been expensive to follow since winning his maiden over a mile and a half here in January but may be worth one more chance this evening. He made a bold bid to make all over a marginally longer trip last time, showing enough speed in the process to prompt this drop in distance. Kirsty Milczarek rides him for the first time and may be able to get a decent tune out of him. Putra Laju, rather like Justcallmehandsome, is essentially high enough in the weights but both horses have plenty of form around here and it would be no surprise to see them involved at the business end. Encores has been off the track for a while but should stay this far and has the form to figure. He's been sent off as favourite the last twice and the market should guide as to expectations. However, we'll nominate Steig for top honours.
King of The Moors (USA) 33-1 (8-8) Led, ridden over 3f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened, last of 6, 20l behind Gee Dee Nen (9-1) at Musselburgh 1m 6f hcp 0-100 (2) gd in Nov.
Urban Warrior 25-1 (8-7) Mid-division, headway over 5f out, weakened 2f out, last of 12, 11l behind Lemonette (9-11) at Warwick 1m 3f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Aug.
Encores 13-8fav (9-5) Broke well, steadied into mid-division over 5f out, headway over 2f out, chased leader well over 1f out, no extra, 3rd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Northern Boy (9-0) at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Nov.
Putra Laju (IRE) 7-1 (8-3) Reared start, keen in rear, short-lived effort over 1f out, 6th of 8, 4 1/2l behind Bee Stinger (9-4) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jan.
Justcallmehandsome 10-1 (8-2) Led, edged right well over 1f out, hung left, headed inside final furlong, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Princess Cocoa (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 1f app hcp (4) pol.
Steig (IRE) 2-1fav (9-0) Led, clear over 6f out, ridden over 2f out, caught close home, 3rd of 13, 1/2l behind Schelm (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcap (6) pol.
Muncaster Castle (IRE) 12-1 (8-13) Chased leader, led over 2f out, ridden and headed entering final furlong, no extra towards finish, 5th of 9, 2 1/2l behind Supercast (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcap (6) pol.