held up, headway over 2f, ridden over 1f, stayed on same pace final furlong
held up towards rear, switched to outside over 2f, ridden and onepaced final furlong
tracked leaders, led over 2f, ridden over 1f, kept on well final furlong
in touch, pushed along over 3f, ridden and stayed on final furlong
mid-division, effort over 2f, onepaced final furlong
slowly into stride and always behind
led, pushed along and headed over 2f, stayed on same pace
never better than mid-division
mid-division, headway over 3f, ridden and onepaced final furlong
mid-division, chased along over 3f, soon outpaced
in touch, effort over 3f, soon outpaced
towards rear, effort over 2f, ridden over 1f, soon weakened
A very competitive race, with the progressive Bahlino, Coolbythepool and Cheeky Girl all in with a chance, and One Off a typical Mark Prescott improver, but it may just be worth taking a small chance with likely outsider Classic Quartet, who appears to have been let in lightly on her handicap debut. Coolbythepool, like many of Mark Johnston's horses, seems to thrive on his racing, and was recording his third win of the year when comfortably landing a course and distance handicap a week ago, with Victory Sign, That's Racing and Ensemble all well held. He is actually eight pounds higher today and while he must hold every chance, there might just be one or two to beat him here. William Jarvis has booked Kieren Fallon to ride Bahlino, who won a decent handicap at Redcar last time and could easily be capable of defying a 4lb rise in the weights. Cheeky Girl won over this trip at Pontefract earlier in the season, and Tim Easterby's filly put up an even better performance when second at Leicester last time so is another to come into the reckoning, as are Barry Hills' lightly-raced Eloquent Silence and also One Off. The latter is trained by Sir Mark Prescott and, although his form so far is uninspiring, this stoutly-bred Barathea colt steps up significantly in trip for his handicap debut so has to be respected. But in a race where a number have chances, it may be worth having a small each-way bet on a big outsider, and Classic Quartet could fit the bill. From a relatively unfashionable stable, this Classic Cliche filly makes her handicap debut today and a couple of her previous efforts, most notably when ninth behind the smart Hecuba at Ripon, suggest she could be very well treated on a mark of just 54. She hung badly right on her third start, so this track should suit and we'll take a chance that Classic Quartet can at least reach the frame at big odds.
