chased leaders, ridden 2f out, one pace
led, ridden and headed inside final furlong, no extra
keen, tracked leader, shaken up to lead inside final furlong, pushed out
held up, ridden 2f out, no impression
A small but tricky affair to start the evening's action, and Honey Ryder is just preferred ahead of Stephanie's Mind. David Loder's filly was a market drifter for her debut at Thirsk last month, but despite running green shaped with plenty of promise in going down by just a short head to the more experienced Top Form. She was sticking on well in the closing stages so it is slightly surprising to see her drop back in trip for her second start, but hopefully she will have learned from that experience and will be more professional here. The opposition looks to be of a good standard, with Stephanie's Mind having improved with every run and finishing only a length behind the smart Maid's Causeway at Newbury last time. She has had a little break since then and now moved to Geoff Huffer. Sir Michael Stoute's Regina didn't show much on her debut at Nottingham, but could easily improve, while the two newcomers both make some appeal on breeding. However, Honey Ryder looks like a winner waiting to happen and she gets the vote.
