keen, held up behind leaders, ridden over 1f out, not quicken final furlong
led early, tracked leaders, shaken up to lead inside final furlong easily
with leader, ridden over 1f out, beaten when not clear run inside final furlong
keen, soon led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no chance with winner
This is a good juvenile contest, and we just fancy Ardkeel Lass, in receipt of weight from all of her rivals, to maintain her unbeaten record; Soonest and Straw Poll are the ones she has to beat. Ardkeel Lass started life in a course and distance seller for Bryn Palling, but having bolted up by eight lengths (Only If I Laugh was back in third) it was no surprise to see her change hands for 27,000 guineas at the subsequent auction. Amazingly, she swerved at the start and lost ground on her debut, so there is surely more to come. Soonest was out of his depth in the Norfolk Stakes but had shown some good form previously, not least when running the smart Nevisian Lad to a short head on his debut at Newmarket, and Richard Hannon's colt should go well here, despite having to give nine pounds to the selection. Straw Poll has even more weight to carry, but Mick Channon's colt was not helped by a poor draw when going down narrowly at Chester last time and is still capable of playing a leading role. However, Ardkeel Lass could prove to be a very smart filly and we take her to score again in her first start for Dean Ivory.
