slowly into stride, mid-division, ridden to chase leaders over 2f out, weakened well over 1f out
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened entering final furlong
held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong
held up and keen, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, not quicken
chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
held up towards rear and keen, headway over 2f out, went 2nd over 1f out, led inside final furlong, driven out
chased leader, pushed along over 2f out, soon weakened
It would probably be the shock of the evening if HIGH HEELED were not good enough to win now dropped back into Listed company and we will take her to do so, while Sweet Lilly and Ave could make her go. The Barry Hills-trained selection was good enough to finish third in the Oaks before disappointing last time in a Group 2 at Haydock. This is a marked drop in class, meaning that she is now 16lbs clear of all but one of her opponents. She drops back to 10 furlongs, and neither that nor the ground should be a concern, and she is difficult to oppose. Sweet Lilly won this race last year when rated 102 and the ground was good to firm. She has not been seen since October, and has never won first time out, so in spite of her ability she may be found wanting in this. A better proposition could be Ave, who showed she handled soft ground when winning over a mile at Salisbury in a decent handicap last time and now steps up in class. However, she did win that easily and she may well have a fair bit more improvement to come over this longer trip, so she could produce a very big run here. Short Affair comes here after winning over the trip and in similar conditions at Doncaster and she looks another likely to improve, though perhaps does not have the scope of some others. Conditions and trip will suit Moon Sister, who is probably better than she has shown so far this campaign, but does have a bit to prove. Medici Pearl will love the Knavesmire ground but along with the rest of them, she probably will not have sufficient class to lower the colours of High Heeled, who could be a shoo-in.
Medici Pearl 25-1 (8-9) Mid-division, effort and hung left over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 18, 15l behind Sirvino (8-8) at York 1m 2f hcap (2) gd.
Moon Sister (IRE) 15-2 (9-5) Tracked leaders, headway and not clear run over 2f out to over 1f out, soon lost place, no impression final furlong, last of 8, 13l behind Lady Jane Digby (9-5) at Newcastle 1m 2f fll lst stks (1) gf in Jun.
Short Affair 10-1 (9-0) Held up in rear, headway on outer over 2f out, led over 1f out, ran on final furlong, won at Doncaster 1m 2f (2) gs in Jun beating Lady Jane Digby (9-7) by 1 1/2l, 6 ran.
Sweet Lilly 14-1 (9-5) Keen, held up towards rear, flashed tail throughout, ridden over 2f out, no real impression, 8th of 11, 16l behind Barshiba (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 2f fll lst stks (1) gd in Oct.
Ave 9-4fav (9-7) Raced against stands side rail, tracked leader, led overall 2f out, drew clear final furlong, easily, won at Salisbury 1m 3yo fll hcp 0-95 (3) sft beating Perfect Friend (8-11) by 4l, 8 ran.
Clare Glen (IRE) 50-1 (9-0) Soon led, ridden and headed 2 1/2f out, no extra over 1f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 9, 2 3/4l behind Anywaysmile (9-0) at Naas 1m 3yo fll mdn gf in Jun.
High Heeled (IRE) 11-8fav (8-6) Held up towards rear, switched left over 2f out, headway when not clear run over 1f out, staying on and disputing 3rd when entering final furlong, no impression, 3rd of 8, 5l behind Barshiba (9-5) at Haydock 1m 4f Grp 2 flls (1) gf.
Young Americans (IRE) 12-1 (8-12) Pulled hard early, soon steadied into 7th, pushed along on inside 3f out, soon beaten, 8th of 9, 19l behind Strawberrydaiquiri (8-12) at Sandown 1m 3yo lst fll (1) gd.
