held up in touch, smooth headway over 2f out, led on bit 1f out, easily
held up, some headway over 2f out, soon no impression
prominent, ridden and weakened over 2f out
hampered start, held up, pushed along over 3f out, chased leaders over 2f out, kept on, never able to challenge
went left start, held up in rear, headway over 2f out, chased leaders approaching final furlong, kept on same pace
led, ridden 2f out, headed 1f out, no extra
pulled hard and prominent, effort over 2f out, weakened final furlong
Ten A Penny takes the eye and is fancied to complete the four-timer at the main expense of Free Offer, while Letham Island should also be capable of making the rest aware of her presence at this level. That said, the likelihood of fancy odds would also be tempting for a small each-way play with Bold Indian if the dead-eight stand their ground. The last named showed plenty of encouragement last year and was not beaten far is maiden company at Musselburgh earlier in the month. That run will have put her spot on for this and a bold bid cannot be ruled out. Letham Island needs to step up on what she showed on the All Weather, but her stable has been in terrific form, so the daughter of Trans Island could feasibly make an impact on her turf debut. The ground may be a faster than her pedigree suggests would be ideal, though. Free Offer was set a stiff task on her introduction last year but did manage to get off the mark at Brighton in August. She is going the right way but has improvement to find to master the selection. Therefore, we stick with Ten A Penny, who is unbeaten so far and is obviously highly regarded by his connections. As a son of Gulch, he is bred to appreciate the dirt and America has been mooted as a future destination for him to ply his trade. A further win would do his sales price no harm and, as this is not a great race, he is taken to brush this lot aside today.
Ten A Penny (USA) 4-1 (8-8) Towards rear, ridden over 2f out, stayed on steadily from over 1f out, ran on well under pressure to lead towards finish, won at Kempton 1m 3yo hcp (4) pol in Mar beating Mr Napper Tandy (9-1) by a shd, 7 ran.
Free Offer 1-5fav (9-0) Soon led, headed 3 out, led 2 out, pushed clear final furlong, eased near finish, won at Brighton 7f 2yo fll mdn aut (5) frm in Aug beating Belvedere Vixen (9-0) by 5l, 4 ran.
Rain And Shade 8-13fav (9-3) Led to 7f out, stayed prominent, weakened quickly from 2f out, soon tailed off, 8th of 9, well behind Spring Glory (8-12) at Lingfield 1m 4f 3yo mdn (5) pol in Feb.
Sumi Girl (IRE) 50-1 (8-5) Dwelt, towards rear, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, ran on strongly, won at Newcastle 6f 2yo mdn (5) sft in Sept beating Love Dubai (9-3) by 2 1/2l, 11 ran.
Nassmaan (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, effort over 2f out, no chance with first 2 when lost 3rd inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 7l behind Zar Solitario (9-1) at Kempton 1m 2f 3yo hcp (4) pol in Mar.
Letham Island (IRE) 4-11fav (8-7) Always prominent, led over 4f out, ridden out and held on under pressure, won at Southwell 1m 2yo mdn auc (5) fbs in Dec beating Bert's Memory (8-7) by 1/2l, 9 ran.
Bold Indian (IRE) 10-1 (8-10) Chased leaders, every chance over 2f out, soon ridden, kept on, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Record Breaker (8-10) at Musselburgh 1m 1f mdn stk (5) gf.
Coconut Queen (IRE) 20-1 (8-5) Chased leaders, every chance inside final furlong, stayed on strongly, just failed, 2nd of 12, hd behind Laurentina (9-1) at Catterick 7f 2yo fll hcp (4) gd in Oct.
