held up in rear, ridden to chase leaders over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
proment, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, one pace
chase leader, outpaced over 1f out
tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced over 3f out, stayed on and switched left inside last, soon led, kept on
PHOENIX FLIGHT's form stacks up well and with the stable back in form he is taken to get back to winning ways at the main expense of Chookie Hamilton, Longboat Key and Ifatfirst. The lengthy list of dangers indicates the complex nature of this handicap, where few if any can be ruled out. The selection has been holding his form well since winning at Kempton in March despite his stable having a quiet spell. With two winners on Tuesday, it looks like the Prescott bandwagon is back and rolling and it should be hard to stop over the coming weeks. This son of Hawk Wing stays well, has form on a variety of surfaces, and looks the one to beat. Chookie Hamilton has been progressing well at a modest level but as a result he is now sitting atop his loftiest ever perch; a mark of 75 makes this look tougher than an old boot. Birkside was picked up by current connections in May and ran his best race since when second to Tufton last time out at the track but that was a small field and debatable form so it might not pay to get too carried away. Prince Rhyddarch is a course winner and Ian Semple's gelding steps up in trip today on this comeback from a 296-day break. Longboat Key has had two agonising defeats of late and Mark Johnston's gelding has done little wrong on each occasion. He looks to be a man's ride so his jockey will need to be at his strongest, but there is no crabbing his recent form and the first two were well-clear last time out. His stablemate Toujours Souriante has plenty to prove and looks nothing special. Ifatfirst ran well in defeat last time out at Ayr and does have a win here to his name before, albeit over a shorter trip. A good handicap this where we will side with the top-weight Phoenix Flight.
Phoenix Flight (IRE) 11-4fav (9-5) Held up in rear, headway on outside 2f out, stayed on steadily from over 1f out, nearest finish, 4th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Judgethemoment (9-5) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Apr.
Chookie Hamilton 3-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, stayed on to lead near finish, won at Ayr 1m 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Jun beating Cote d'Argent (8-9) by hd, 6 ran.
Birkside 2-1 (9-7) Led, quicken over 3f out, soon driven, strongly challenged over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 4, 1/2l behind Tufton (8-13) at Hamilton 1m 3f clm stks (6) gf.
Prince Rhyddarch 10-1 (10-3) In touch, led over 2f out, stayed on well, won at Newcastle 1m 4f am hcp (6) hvy in Oct beating Signalman (10-12) by 4l, 16 ran.
Toujours Souriante 40-1 (7-7) Hampered on bend after 2f, always behind, last of 12, 18l behind Quai D'orsay (9-7) at Musselburgh 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-90 (2) gd in Jun.
Ifatfirst (IRE) 6-1 (9-1) Held up towards rear, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, chased winner inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 9, nk behind Forrest Flyer (9-4) at Ayr 1m 5f hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Longboat Key 2-1fav (8-1) Held up, ridden and switched left over 1f out, stayed on on outer entering final furlong, just failed, 2nd of 9, ns behind Pseudonym (9-1) at Beverley 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gf.
