jumped right at start, held up behind leaders, ridden over 1f, edged left inside final furlong, eased down close home
held up, pushed along over 2f, ridden and stayed on same pace final furlong
tracked leader, pushed along to lead over 1f, ridden and kept on final furlong
led, ridden and headed over 1f, stayed on same pace
hampered at start, went prominent, ridden over 2f, weakened final furlong
slowly into stride, in rear, pushed along over 3f, ridden over 1f, onepaced inside final furlong
A good sprint handicap to start the card, and it should rest between Ridgeback, Park Star and Night Prospector. Slight preference goes to Ridgeback, who looks to have bags of scope and may have been let in lightly on his handicap debut. Barry Hills' colt went down in a few notebooks at Nottingham in April, when he finished well clear of those on the stands side when third to Millybaa. He duly obliged next time out, winning a Thirsk maiden with a good deal of authority and a mark of 80 does not appear harsh for his handicap debut. He has bags of speed and the drop back in trip is not expected to be a problem. Park Star comes here on a hat trick, having followed up an easy Hamilton success with a more hard-fought victory at Windsor. Derrick Shaw's filly is only three pounds higher than that latest start and rates a big threat, particularly if there is rain beforehand. Night Prospector boasts some very consistent form, despite a tendency to hang violently right in his races. He holds Russian Mistress on his form when second at Redcar on his handicap debut last time, and if connections could fathom a way to straighten his steering out, then he could improve again.
