Salisbury 5:24 Result

Colourband is progressive, won last time out and his recent form figures -16421 show he's in career-best form with a strong finishing effort each time he's raced this year. Only 3yo, so still improving, and OR of 89 with only 134lbs looks workable in this handicap. Rossa Ryan takes the ride for the powerful Crisford stable who are in good form. He's raced at a mile before with the win coming at that trip, so distance isn't a query. The field is competitive but several dangers have question marks: Boyfriend and One Smack Mac are top-weighted at 92 but One Smack Mac's recent form (00-090) is poor; Principality has genuine claims fresh from a recent win 4 days ago but may be race-fit and stretched back out quickly; Point Of Contact has decent recent form figures with Oisin Murphy up which is a positive jockey booking, but hasn't shown he can go one better having been placed a few times without winning. Shipbourne (Frankel colt, Beckett/Juddmonte) is interesting on pedigree and has a big weight break, but his solitary win came at a lower level and he's stepping up in class off a break. Colourband looks the type to keep progressing, has course form advantage of already showing he handles this sort of test, and the booking of a strong rider suggests confidence. He looks the most reliable of the improving types in a competitive, hard-to-fathom handicap.