in touch, effort after 3 out, weakened next
always prominent, blundered 2nd, weakened approaching 2 out, remote 2nd when mistake last
chased leaders, not fluent 5th weakened before 3 out
made all, clear 3 out, very easy
in touch, ridden 4th, soon weakened, pulled up after 6th
held up towards rear, reminders 2nd, never dangerous
tracked leaders, under pressure before 5 out, soon weakened
tracked winner, effort 4 out, weakened before next
mid-division, stayed 2nd, headway and hit 4 out, not fluent next, soon ridden and weakened
mid-division, headway and not fluent 5th weakened before 3 out
A decent contest for the time of year and the leading protagonists look to be Strikeen, Callisto Moon, Silmi and Soliya and the vote goes to the last named. Soliya has already defeated today's opponent Silmi, admittedly on soft ground, at Newton Abbot last month, when giving the colt 5lbs. Today the David Pipe-trained filly has an 8lb pull and so should comfortably be able to uphold that form on ground that she acts on. Silmi has since gone on to win at Cartmel race easily and so may be improving, but he will need to if he is to reverse placings with the selection. Strikeen was a c&d scorer by nine lengths last time on his hurdling debut and if Terry Mills can elicit any improvement he can have a big say in the outcome, while Callisto Moon was a winner on the same Cartmel card as Silmi but posted a time over two seconds slower over the same trip and both were carrying the same racing weight, so he may have too much to do and preference is for Soliya.
Strikeen (IRE) 7-4fav (10-12) Held up, headway 5th, led after 2 out, ran on well, won at Stratford 2m 3yo nov hdl (3) gd in Aug beating Citrus Chief (10-12) by 9l, 12 ran.
Callisto Moon 2-1fav (10-12) Made all, pushed clear flat, won at Cartmel 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Aug beating Top Rocker (10-12) by 8l, 11 ran.
Silmi 6-4fav (10-12) Chased leaders, took closer order 5th, led approaching next, clear last, easily, won at Cartmel 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Aug beating Finlay's Footsteps (10-12) by 11l, 9 ran.
Soliya (FR) 10-11fav (11-3) Made all, clear 3 out, driven out, won at N Abbot 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) sft in Aug beating Silmi (10-12) by 2l, 11 ran.
Abbotts Account (USA) 33-1 (10-9) In touch until lost place and hampered 4th, soon well behind, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Kanonkop (10-0) at Market Rasen 2m 1f 3yo mdn hdl (4) gf, 12 ran.
Agapios (IRE) 28-1 (10-12) Never fluent, soon tailed off and pulled up 5 out in race won by Soliya (11-3) at N Abbot 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) sft in Aug, 11 ran.
Bluecrop Boy 15-2 (10-12) Tracked leader, led 3 out, ridden and headed before next, hung right approaching last, no extra, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Sad Times (10-1) at N Abbot 2m 1f 3yo mdn hdl (4) gs in Aug.
L'Oiseau de Feu (USA) 50-1 (10-7) In touch, keen, ridden 4th, fell 2 out fell 2 out in race won by Strikeen (10-12) at Stratford 2m 3yo nov hdl (3) gd in Aug, 12 ran.
Linkslade Lad 20-1 (10-12) Always in rear, tailed off 3 out, 5th of 9, well behind Mud Monkey (10-12) at Bangor 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gf in Aug.
Quite A Splash (USA) 10-1 (10-12) Led, hit 4th, headed 6th, weakened approaching 2 out, 4th of 9, well behind Mud Monkey (10-12) at Bangor 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gf in Aug.
Road To Recovery 11-2 (9-4) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 13, 16l behind Mick Is Back (8-10) at Leicester 7f 3yo clm (5) sft in May (Flat).
Sadler's Hill (IRE) 40-1 (9-1) In lead 9f out, 6th and tailed off over 1f out, 6th of 7, well behind Susie May (8-9) at Brighton 1m 4f clm (5) gf in Aug (Flat).
Urban Warrior 25-1 (8-7) Mid-division, headway over 5f out, weakened 2f out, last of 12, 11l behind Lemonette (9-11) at Warwick 1m 3f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Aug (Flat).
Brierley Lil 14-1 (10-5) Led until 3 out, soon weakened, 7th of 8, 38l behind Sad Times (10-1) at N Abbot 2m 1f 3yo mdn hdl (4) gs in Aug.
The Mighty Ogmore 33-1 (8-4) Towards rear, never dangerous, 15th of 17, 11l behind Thornaby Green (8-12) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Aug (Flat).
Wassendale 14-1 (10-5) Held up towards rear, headway 3rd, soon challenged, weakened from last, 4th of 11, 25l behind Callisto Moon (10-12) at Cartmel 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Aug.
