held up, ridden and headway on inside over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong
led, ridden 2f out, headed inside last, kept on
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong
held up, headway on outer over 4f out, ridden to chase leader over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, held up in rear, ridden and headway on outer over 1f out, no impression
held up and keen, ridden and outpaced over 3f out, kept on final furlong, no impression
tracked leader and keen, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong
The nod here goes to Virtue ahead of mainly Press Express and Crete. This is a chance to see how good Virtue is. Much as she did not win by far at Windsor last time, a rating of just 75 has surely understated her ability and, with her break since that race also probably bringing improvement, she can go well today. Press Express was narrowly beaten from today's mark at Leicester last time and is respected, while Toldo is tough and, despite being five pound above a winning mark, can be relied upon to go well. Crete won off this mark at Windsor two runs ago and will enjoy this company more so than at York last time in a race won by Tawqeet. Spinning Coin made hay during the summer and could have been freshened up by a break, while a return to the form that saw her narrowly beaten at York from a pound higher mark in May, would give Tcherina solid enough claims. Patxaran has suffered from being reassessed, The Composer has so far failed to live up to a good billing and Nobelix might also find it hard to win today from his mark. All of which returns us to the selection, which is Virtue.
Toldo (IRE) 7-1 (9-0) Tracked leader, led over 8f out, hard ridden and under pressure over 1f out, headed towards finish but no extra, 2nd of 5, 1/2l behind Barcardero (9-0) at Ripon 1m 4f 3yo hcp (4) gf in Jun.
Spinning Coin 15-2 (9-1) Chased winner, ridden and every chance over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 6, 13l behind Miss Particular (9-0) at Newbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp (4) gs in Jul.
Virtue 5-2 (8-9) Tracked leaders, went 2nd over 2f out, stayed on to lead just inside final furlong, all out, won at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo mdn aut (5) gf in May beating Patronage (9-0) by a nk, 13 ran.
Patxaran (IRE) 20-1 (9-8) Towards rear, effort over 2f out, some late headway, never near to challenge, 9th of 15, 7l behind Idealistic (10-10) at York 1m 4f ldy rds hcp (3) gd in Aug.
Nobelix (IRE) 11-4jt-fav (8-13) Prominent, pushed along over 3f out, ridden and stayed on same pace final 2f, 3rd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Higher State (9-13) at Beverley 1m 4f hcp (5) gs in Aug.
Press Express (IRE) 7-4fav (8-10) Pulled hard in touch, ridden and hung right over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 7, shd behind Northside Lodge (9-1) at Leicester 1m 2f app hcp (5) gf.
Crete (IRE) 12-1 (8-5) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 10, 14l behind Tawqeet (9-0) at York 1m 6f 3yo hcp (2) gf in Aug.
Tcherina (IRE) 11-1 (7-13) In touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out, last of 14, 14l behind Karlu (8-5) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (4) gs.
