held up, weakened over 4f out
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened over 2f out
held up, ridden 3f out, plugged on
led, reminded halfway, ridden and headed over 2f out, held final furlong
held up, steady headway 5f out, chased leading trio over 2f out, gradually weakened
held up, headway halfway, ridden 4f out, led over 2f out, edged left under pressure inside final furlong, kept on
towards rear, never dangerous
held up, ridden 3f out, stayed on, no chance with winner
Spiritonthemount was unlucky to run into the handicap good thing Askar Tau at Haydock last time and Peter Hiatt's lightly raced three year old can land this. Taking that form literally is not advised as Askar Tau was value for more than the official winning margain but the form has worked out with a couple of those behind scoring from higher marks since. He has shown he goes well fresh in the past which is all important returning here after 110 days off. Rutba was one of those behind Spiritonthemount who has since scored, posting back-to-back victories off very low marks. She is now 4lb worse off for that nine length beating although evidently has improved since. It should be noted she has proved herself to be quite head strong in the past, refusing to load on her supposed last start at Kempton. Goldrenched is lightly raced and scored for the first time on her initial start over two miles last time. From a 4lb higher mark she should not be dismissed lightly although this does look a better race. Forget It was well backed to win on his two mile debut at Lingfield last time. He received a soft lead there and no excuses could be offered. SPIRITONTHEMOUNT has the strongest credentials coming into this and despite the presence of a couple of potential improvers, the top-weight is given the vote.
Spiritonthemount (USA) 20-1 (9-7) Chased leader for 6f, ridden over 3f out, chased winner over 1f out, no impression, 2nd of 15, 4l behind Askar Tau (8-4) at Haydock 1m 6f 3yo hcp (5) gd in Jul.
Goldrenched (IRE) 7-1 (9-7) Held up in touch, headway to track leader over 5f out, ridden to lead well over 1f out, held on under pressure final furlong, won at Newcastle 2m 3yo hcp (5) hvy beating Unawatuna (8-3) by a nk, 8 ran.
Shaftesbury (IRE) 17-2 (9-3) Stumbled start, always behind, 9th of 12, 17l behind Precision Break (8-9) at Warwick 1m 5f 3yo hcp (5) gs in May.
Forget It 9-2 (9-2) Soon led, headed over 7f out, stayed prominent, kept on to go 2nd over 2f out, no chance with winner, 2nd of 12, 4 1/2l behind Coda Agency (9-8) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Opera de Luna 2-1fav (9-1) In touch in main group, chased leader over 2f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 3rd of 6, 20l behind Highland Homestead (8-8) at Great Leighs 1m 5f 3yo hcp (6) pol.
Rutba 9-2fav (8-5) Slowly into stride, soon in touch, ridden and chased leader over 2f out, every chance from over 1f out, driven to lead well inside final furlong, won at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-65 (6) sft in Sept beating Chiff Chaff (9-3) by 1 1/2l, 11 ran.
Mary Athena (FR) 12-1 (8-6) Towards rear, ridden 6f out, never near leaders, 8th of 13, 22l behind Houghton (9-2) at Great Leighs 1m 6f mdn stk (5) pol in Sept.
Corking (IRE) 25-1 (9-0) Led, ridden over 1f out, headed and no extra close home, 2nd of 12, hd behind Stravita (9-9) at Leicester 1m 4f ldy clm stk (6) gd.
