fly jumped and slowly away, headway to join leaders 6f out, ridden to chase leader approaching 3f out, weakened final furlong
mid-division, headway 6f out, led approaching 3f out, headed inside final furlong
tracked leader, ridden and weakened 3f out
dwelt, in rear, late headway
mid-division, chased leaders over 3f out, weakened approaching final furlong
held up, towards rear, steady headway over 4f out, ridden 2f out, led inside final furlong, headed soon after, no extra
soon led, ridden and headed approaching 3f out, weakened
towards rear, headway 5f out, ridden to chase leaders over 2f out, kept on
always towards rear
mid-division, ridden on inside 3f out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, ran on well to lead line
mid-division, ridden and stayed on from over 1f out, nearest at finish
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 4f out
held up rear, steady headway 3f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, headed line
in touch, weakened after 4f
A competitive heat where the short list comprises Moon On A Spoon, Airbound, Linden Lime and Tranquilizer and the vote goes to Moon On A Spoon now she is stepped up in trip. The selection was a fast ground 10f winner at Ripon earlier in the campaign and has twice run well in defeat since then. Underfoot conditions do not seem to matter, she is bred to go well at this trip, and we think she can take her first opportunity over it. Airbound was a winner last time out at Wolverhampton over this trip and has to defy a 4lb penalty here if he is to follow up. That win was his best effort since his debut here in January, and back on this surface it looks likely that he will again go very well. Tranquilizer was unfortunate to keep going up in the weights for defeats. This 2lb drop will help her become more competitive, while Linden Lime's win at Chester last time reads well in the context of this race, although the drop back in trip is not ideal and she may have to wait for another day. But Moon On A Spoon has the right credentials here and is our choice.
Overlord Way (GR) 14-1 (8-13) Mid-division, headway 3f out, ridden over 2f out, stayed on, not reach winner, 2nd of 8, 1 1/2l behind Ardea Brave (8-7) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Aug.
Tranquilizer 11-2 (9-0) Held up, stayed on from over 3f out, never going pace to reach leaders, 5th of 12, 9l behind Establishment (8-12) at Kempton 2m hcap (4) pol in Apr.
The Violin Player (USA) 9-2 (9-1) Held up, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, never dangerous, 7th of 8, 7l behind Ardea Brave (8-7) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Aug.
Fen Game (IRE) 11-2 (9-7) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, hung left and hampered inside final furlong, not recover, 7th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Gambling Spirit (9-11) at Newmarket 1m 2f hcap (5) gf in Aug.
Linden Lime 8-1 (9-0) Prominent and keen, not clear run 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on, won at Chester 1m 5f hcp 0-80 (4) gf beating Jeepstar (9-7) by 1l, 12 ran.
Northside Lodge (IRE) 5-1co-fav (9-4) Held up in touch, headway to track leaders 3f out, soon ridden and no response, 6th of 9, 10l behind Air Biscuit (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2f app hcp (6) gd.
Airbound (USA) 7-1 (9-4) Prominent, ridden to lead over 2f out, ran on, won at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Aug beating Sgt Schultz (9-6) by 3/4l, 9 ran.
Moon On A Spoon 6-1 (8-5) Held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, chased winner final furlong, 2nd of 9, 2l behind Macorville (8-7) at Ripon 1m 2f hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Aug.
