held up in touch, headway over 2f out, weakened 1f out
led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
prominent, led over 1f out, soon ridden, headed well inside final furlong, unable to quicken
chased leader, ridden 2f out, edged right 1f out, stayed on same pace
held up, headway well over 1f out, soon ridden, led well inside final furlong, ran on
Not a race that will live long in the memory and Night Groove is the pick ahead of Chalentina and Rose Musawim. There is an obvious matter of an absence from the track to consider but Nick Littmoden is sure to have him fit and ready and we chance that he will be good enough to oblige in a truly desperate affair. Chalentina has a fair BHB mark but has become a professional loser. She weakened rapidly on all-weather debut and might be worth opposing at short odds. Rose Musawim has the ideal draw and Dale Gibson booked. He didn't run badly over seven furlongs but does not strike as the most speedy of individuals. The City Kid and Bathwick Emma both look exposed but David Evans has had a couple of winners of late so the market is watched in order to gather an idea as to which of his pair is most fancied. The claiming boxes are unlikely to be bulging with offers and we select Night Groove to land the opener.
Chalentina 12-1 (9-3) Raced wide, in touch, ridden over 2f out, no impression, 8th of 11, 9l behind Rakata (9-2) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Night Groove (IRE) 4-1 (8-13) Prominent until weakened over 2f out, 11th of 14, 17l behind Precious Dancer (9-2) at Brighton 1m 2f 3yo hcp (6) frm in Apr.
Rose Muwasim 14-1 (8-12) Towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 5th of 11, 9l behind Barney McGrew (9-3) at W'hampton 7f mdn stk (5) pol.
Bathwick Emma (IRE) 25-1 (8-13) Mid-division, effort over 2f out, no impression, 6th of 8, 9l behind La Colline (8-0) at Southwell 6f fll hcp (5) fbs in Nov.
The City Kid (IRE) 12-1 (8-7) Chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, one pace final 2f, 6th of 14, 6l behind Shrine Mountain (9-4) at Southwell 7f sll (6) fbs.