Please see my analysis of this race in the NewPace discussion Forum.
There is no horse within 1 point of being a contender (excepting the #5 and #7 who are 1 point away from each other and we'd like to be able to choose one or the other), so (as I see it) Dave's advice, while
generally applicable, is not
specifically applicable here. However, there
is specific NP method advice which does the job, though always looking to learn, if I got something wrong.
Ted