dwelt, tracked winner, effort over 1f out, one pace under pressure
mid-division, pushed along halfway, no impression
in touch, headway and effort over 1f out, stayed on well to chase winner inside final furlong
in touch, ridden 2f out, kept on under pressure final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
made all, held on well final furlong
mid-division, ridden over 2f out, no impression
towards rear, pushed along halfway, kept on final furlong
tracked leaders, effort over 1f out, no extra final furlong
towards rear, never dangerous
mid-division, struggling halfway
A hard handicap to fathom with a few recent winners in the race however narrow preference is for the well-drawn NIGHT AFFAIR ahead of Song Of Praise, Spring Green and Dametime. David Arbuthnot's three-year-old was a 6/1 winner on her debut at Wolverhampton, where she took a weak race in decent fashion. Today she faces tougher competition but her opening mark of 75 may not be the ceiling of her ability. A full sister to Shaded Edge, she is expected to improve with age as her dam did and with more to come she is expected to prevail. Merry Diva needs to improve on her reappearance run at Windsor but any market move might suggest that she is ready to, whilst Song Of Praise has a good all-weather record and she is likely to benefit from this easier surface. Spring Green makes her handicap bow off a mark of 73 and now steps back up in trip, whilst Leadenhall Lass and Beautiful Filly have plenty to prove after their latest starts. Recent Chepstow winner Dametime has a 6lb penalty for that win which makes life tougher, whilst Ba Menace and Princess Zohra are unexposed and open to lots of improvement. A hard handicap to call but our vote goes to top-weight Night Affair.
Night Affair 6-1 (9-0) Prominent, led well over 2f out, ran on, won at Wolverhampton 6f 2yo fll mdn stks (5) pol in Dec beating Luckydolly (8-9) by 3 1/2l, 12 ran.
Merry Diva 12-1 (9-1) Steadied start, held up behind, ridden along over 2f out, no impression on leaders over 1f out, 9th of 12, 7l behind Gilt Edge Girl (9-5) at Windsor 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in May.
Song of Praise 14-1 (9-2) Mid-division, ridden and headway from 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 9th of 16, 5l behind Rio Royale (9-1) at Salisbury 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) fm in May.
Spring Green 9-1 (8-9) Chased leaders, ridden to lead entering final furlong, ran on well, driven out, won at Bath 5f mdn auc stks (6) gs in May beating Musical Bridge (9-0) by 1l, 11 ran.
Leadenhall Lass (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) Tracked leader to over 2f out, one pace afterwards, 5th of 12, 6l behind Gilt Edge Girl (9-5) at Windsor 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in May.
Dametime (IRE) 9-1 (8-13) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on well to lead close home, won at Chepstow 6f fll hcp (5) gd in May beating Perfect Friend (9-4) by nk, 16 ran.
Beautiful Filly 25-1 (8-1) Prominent until weakened quickly 2f out, last of 18, 33l behind Never Lose (9-1) at Newbury 7f (4) gs in May.
Yanza 40-1 (9-3) Held up behind, never dangerous, 11th of 16, 6l behind Taurus Twins (8-12) at Nottingham 6f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
Bea Menace (USA) 25-1 (8-10) Chased leader, every chance and going well over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 2nd of 12, 3 1/2l behind Cumana Bay (9-2) at Newbury 7f (5) gf in May.
Blushing Maid 11-1 (8-2) Not much room after 1f, always in rear, 6th of 9, 11l behind Desperate Dan (8-6) at Bath 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fm in May.
Princess Zohra 3-1fav (8-10) Awkward leaving stalls, towards rear, ridden along 2f out, no impression over 1f out, eased when no chance inside final furlong, 6th of 7, 8l behind Bickersten (8-10) at Lingfield 1m 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Mar.
Final Rhapsody 33-1 (8-7) Mid-division, ridden and weakened halfway, last of 16, 38l behind Dametime (8-13) at Chepstow 6f fll hcp (5) gd in May.
