towards rear, ridden 3f out, headway and weakened 2f out
with leader, ridden over 2f out and weakened
tracked leaders, driven 3f out, soon weakened
soon led, headed inside final furlong, weakened
in rear, ridden and headway on inside over 1f out, no further impression
towards rear, never a factor
reared at start, mid-division, headway over 2f out, led well inside final furlong, ran on
mid-division and keen, effort over 1f out, kept on
in rear, ridden over 3f out, moderate progress
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, edging right when led briefly inside final furlong
tracked leaders, chased leader 3f out, weakened final furlong
A very competitive handicap in which it is hard to truly enthuse about any of the runners, however with some trepidation the vote goes to Harare who is taken to foil Mozie Cat, Spark Up and Discotheque. The selection won in quite taking fashion here twelve days ago, however that wasn't the strongest of races and so it remains to be seen whether he can shoulder a 6lb raise in the weights. He does seem to get on well with his jockey James Doyle who is riding well at present, and if on one of his good days, Harare could go in again. In opposition to the selection is the unexposed Mozie Cat, a winner here twelve days ago. That form has been franked by the runner-up going in since, and whilst she had to fight hard for that victory, it is not unreasonable to assume that there is still improvement to come. Spark Up doesn't know how to run a bad race and is a credit to connections, however the handicapper continues to nudge him up the weights although he has won off a mark of 62 earlier in his career. Discotheque would be a danger over a shorter trip but doesn't seem to fully get this one, whilst Topiary Ted has struggled since winning a seller on his penultimate start. In what is a tricky race to fathom, the tentative vote goes to Richard Price's recent winner Harare.
Border Artist 11-1 (9-2) In touch, chased leaders halfway, stayed on same pace, 4th of 13, 5l behind Elusive Warrior (8-9) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs.
Mozie Cat (IRE) 16-1 (8-12) Prominent, led over 1f out, edged right entering final furlong, ran on, won at W'hampton 1m 1f hcap (6) pol beating Green Pirate (8-0) by a nk, 13 ran.
Blue Empire (IRE) 13-2 (8-13) Led, ridden 3f out, headed well inside final furlong, 2nd of 13, nk behind Moonstreaker (8-5) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) std.
Spark Up 10-1 (8-8) Made all, stayed on strongly, won at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Dante's Diamond (8-13) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Discotheque (USA) 12-1 (9-0) Mid-division, headway and edged right over 2f out, led 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 2nd of 11, 2l behind Scutch Mill (8-13) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Topiary Ted 13-8fav (9-2) Broke well, mid-division, pushed along when lost place and hampered over 3f out, hung right and eased over 1f out, never troubled leaders, 7th of 10, 8l behind Spark Up (8-8) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Keon (IRE) 9-2 (8-6) Chased leaders, went 2nd over 3f out, no impression, 3rd of 10, 4l behind Harare (8-8) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcap (6) pol.
Myths And Verses 10-1 (8-12) Held up towards rear, clear run over 2f out, headway and hung left 1f out, kept on, nearest finish, 4th of 12, 1/2l behind Discotheque (8-10) at W'hampton 7f fll hcp (6) pol in Nov.
