in touch and keen, led after 3f, headed 6f out, stayed prominent, led again over 3f out, ran on well
mid-division, ridden 4f out, weakened 3f out
held up tracking leaders, weakened 5f out, tailed off final 3f
held up rear, good headway over 4f out, ridden to chase leaders 3f out, hanging left and chased winner from over 1f out but no chance
held up, headway halfway, went far side over 4f out, every chance over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in touch, ridden to chase leaders 6f out, weakened over 3f out
keen hold in touch, ridden to chase leaders 5f out, one pace
tracked leader, led 6f out, headed over 3f out and weakened
in touch, ridden over 4f out, stayed on to chase leading pair but hanging left from 1f out
held up towards rear, ridden over 3f out and no impression
led, headed after 3f out, weakend over 4f out
mid-division, ridden 6f out, weakened and tailed off final 3f
In the bumper, we will side with Matelot ahead of Lutea, Sea Captain and Butler's Cabin. It is often hard to get a handle on these types of races and the reason that we have selected Matelot is because he is trained by the astute Francois Doumen. Our confidence would be increased if there was a market move for him, give the betting the once over beforehand. Lutea was an emphatic winner of a Taunton bumper when looking very green. This is a step up in class for him but, with his trainer, owner and jockey in such good form, he has to be fully respected. Sea Captain looked good when scoring at Ludlow on his debut and has a similar profile to Lutea. Butler's Cabin found only one too good for him on his bumper debut and should go well and, of course, receives seven pounds from the previous winners. Of the others, Flinders Bay hails from the in-form Henrietta Knight stable, Miko de Beauchene showed plenty of promise on his debut when staying on late after running green, Fiddlesticks possesses very much a Flat pedigree, and Snakebite comes from a stable that has done fairly well in these types of races. As we say, it's hard to be dogmatic in making a selection so, with this in mind, the choice is Matelot.
