Hilary Needler

As a long-time follower of 2yos, early-season traditional events such as this (and the Lily Agnes, National Stakes etc) always get me excited.

Baileys Jubilee's first 2 efforts marked her down as a smart (but not exceptional) filly. Her showing in the Marygate was too bad to be true. York is a strange track and one that many horses seem to dislike (not sure why). So while I'm prepared to forgive her that run, it's a leap of faith too far for me to assume she'll return to her Kempton/Newmarket ways.

Judy In Disguise is a filly I like, and with her early pace & plum draw everything is in place for a big run. A word of caution though, it looks as though Ryan While can't claim his 7lbs in this. Having talked myself out of backing her last time, she's in danger of becoming one of those animals we've all followed & dread: those that lose when you back them but win when you don't. The value is arguably going/gone from her price so I'll (reluctantly) give her a swerve.

With Baileys Jubilee running a clunker, the Marygate looks ordinary form (slow time backs that view up). As such Woodland Mill and Mayfield Girl look plenty short enough imo.

The one that interests me is Given's Jadanna. The time of her win at Ponty looks decent, although the ground was poor so we shouldn't be too dogmatic about such things. Nonetheless, she was given a very confident ride and won with a fair bit in hand. The form has been franked to some extent since. She has far from an ideal draw in 9, but Paul Mulrennan showed in no uncertain terms last time that she's manoeuvarable, so expect a "right hand down, wait for a gap" ride from him tomorrow. Given expects her to improve a fair bit, and she looks to have the scope to do so. At the price, she'll do for me.

1pt e/w Jadanna @ 7/1

...don't talk to me if Judy In Disguise wins!