mid-division, reminded 7th, ridden 10th, behind from 4 out
in touch, headway 4 out, every chance next, ridden to chase winner after 2 out, kept on under pressure flat
mid-division, ridden 8th, under pressure when badly hampered and unseated rider 4 out
mid-division, chased leaders 4 out, ridden next, no impression from 2 out
chased winner, lost place 10th, driven and in touch when fell heavily 4 out
held up towards rear, blundered 4th, pushed along from 9th, never dangerous
towards rear, headway on outside after 4 out, ridden to chase leaders next, soon no impression
chased leaders, lost place 4 out, soon behind, pulled up before 2 out
chased leaders to 4 out, soon weakened
mid-division, hit 3rd, blundered and dropped rear 5th, behind when fell 10th
made all, ridden approaching last, stayed on well flat
held up towards rear, headway 10th, every chance 3 out, soon ridden, kept on under pressure flat
behind, mistake 6th, lost touch 9th, soon tailed off
mid-division, outpaced 4 out, soon beaten
Martin Pipe has a good record in this race and, with five representatives this time around, he plays a strong hand again this season; with the bang-in-form Montreal possibly being the best of the bunch. There are numerous dangers though and the likes Lik Wood Power, Little Big Horse and Colca Canyon all respected as live dangers. Whereas it would also be dangerous to ignore the claims of Kety Star, who finished last season on a real high with four wins before an obvious set-back curtailed his campaign early. Gladiateur IV underlined that he is no back number when handing Polar Red a five length beating at Stratford in May and, assuming that he does not suffer from the bounce, he can go close again this afternoon. He has been sensibly given time to get over his reappearance effort and holds sound each-way claims. However, this does give Timmy Murphy his first real bite at a big prize for the Pipe yard and, with Montreal absolutely flying at present, he edges the vote today. Montreal has crept up the weights since his wining run started and he will need to be on song to land the four-timer today. However, the way he finished off some good opposition in a valuable race at Perth last time suggested that he still has a fair bit more to offer and he is the first one to look at for us. A market move for Colca Canyon will obviously be very interesting though as his defeat of Risk Accessor last time reads very well here and is a good alternative if the market suggests that Montreal cannot overcome his rise in the handicap this afternoon.
