made virtually all, ridden well over 1f out, driven clear final furlong
with winner, under pressure over 2f out, weakened 1f out
in touch, lost place and beaten 2f out
with leaders on outer, ridden over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out
in touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on to take 2nd close home, no chance with winner
held up, headway 2f out and in touch, kept on from over 1f out, not reached leaders
close up on outer, ridden over 2f out and weakened well over 1f out
held up mid-division, chased winner well over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, lost 2nd close home
ridden along in rear, never dangerous
behind, ridden 3f out, never dangerous
always outpaced in rear
This is a tough task for Hypnotic with 9st 12lb in the plate, so, although he is given every respect, we will pass on the Mark Prescott runner and take a chance with Lateral Thinker, Elgin Marbles may prove best of the others. Jamie Osborne's filly has contested some decent races recently, she finished in midfield in the Newbury sales race won by Sienna Gold, and then wasn't beaten far behind The Crooked Ring in a hot nursery at Kempton. She still looks on a very handy mark and looks set to land her second career win. Hypnotic has contested two all-weather events here at Lingfield and was most impressive when beating Flying Pass by five lengths in the most recent one. It is hard to gauge just how good that form is, but the handicapper has taken no chances. Elgin Marbles must have a chance of beating the selection on a line through The Crooked Ring, but you do have to ignore a desperate effort at Doncaster last time. Of the remainder, Bellalou is steadily improving and can go close at a big price, but Lateral Thinker has the best overall form and gets the verdict.
