in rear, pushed along and outpaced before 3 out, ridden and minor headway 2 out, no impression from last
towards rear, midfield 7th, lost position before 3 out, soon beaten
raced in second, pushed along and lost position 3 out, weakened from 2 out
midfield, chased leaders 2 out, ridden approaching last, kept on strongly run-in, led towards finish
midfield, outpaced 3 out, made no impression from 2 out
midfield, tracked leaders 4 out, made challenge going best after 3 out, not fluent 2 out, ridden approaching last, no extra and weakened final 110 yards
in rear, never on terms
midfield, headway 4 out, went second 3 out, led 2 out, soon ridden, kept on but headed towards finish
led, not fluent 4 out, ridden and headed 2 out, rallied approaching last, kept on but lost second towards finish
WAKOOL won this last year and a Grade 2 at Haydock in the spring. A recent run on the Flat will have put him straight and he can go in again. Aramax completed a double in early summer but wouldn't want more rain nor would the veteran Glinger Flame, an impressive winner on good going at Kelso and up 6lb. Schalke scored on heavy ground on the latter track in December before a cracking effort in a Sandown Grade 3 though he's probably better over further. Barbados Buck's scored three times for Paul Nicholls and his new handler will be looking to get off to a good start with him.
Wakool (FR) 10-1 (8-8) Towards rear, pushed along over 4f out, outpaced over 3f out, stayed on final 150 yards, never on terms, 7th of 9, 8 1/4l behind Punctuation (9-1) at York 2m hcp (3) sft in Oct.
Aramax (GER) 5-2fav (12-0) Held up in rear, improved after 6th, pushed along after 2 out, soon ridden, no extra after last, 4th of 8, 11 1/4l behind Our Sam (10-2) at Cartmel 3m 1f hcp (2) sft in Aug.
Bardenstown Lad 22-1 (11-5) Led narrowly, headed after 2nd, not fluent at 3rd, 3rd at 7th, disputed lead before 9th, headed 3 out, lost place and weakened quickly after 2 out, 10th of 16, 35 3/4l behind Desert Heather (10-6) at Kilbeggan 3m hcp Yielding in May.
Glinger Flame (IRE) 9-2 (10-9) In touch towards rear, join leaders going best soon after 2 out, edged left when shaken up approaching last, went clear flat, readily, won at Kelso 2m 5f hcp (2) gd in Sep beating Bucko's Boy (10-8) by 4 3/4l, 6 ran.
Caius Marcius (IRE) 9-2 (11-6) Mid-division on inner, ridden along after 3 out, soon lost position, weakened from 2 out, 5th of 8, 23 3/4l behind Sebastopol (12-0) at Newton Abbot 2m 6f hcp (2) gd in Sep.
Barbados Buck's (IRE) 7-2fav (11-3) Held up in last trio, dropped to rear and reminders after 5th, jumped slowly 7th, headway out wide and hung left from 2 out, stayed on under pressure in 2nd run-in, never able to challenge, 2nd of 8, 3l behind Annual Invictus (12-0) at Newbury 3m hcp (3) gd in Feb.
Schalke 20-1 (10-8) In rear, ridden after 3 out, stayed on from 2 out, 7th last, went 4th towards finish, 4th of 14, 5l behind Green Book (11-4) at Sandown 2m 7f hcp (1) gs in Feb.
Noble Birth 25-1 (10-2) Tracked leaders, 3rd halfway, dropped to rear before 4 out, soon no extra, well behind and pulled up before 3 out, at Gowran Park 3m hcp hvy in Sep.
Son Of The Somme (IRE) 22-1 (11-10) Held up, struggling from 6th, pulled up before 5 out, at Carlisle 2m 4f hcp (4) gs in Oct.
