held up towards rear, some headway 2f out, soon weakened
held up in touch, ridden to challenge over 1f out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, never nearer
led, ridden and headed well over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
mid-division, headway over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, led inside final furlong, ran on
held up in touch, smooth headway over 1f out, soon switched left, driven to challenge, kept on well close home
mid-division, headway over 1f out, stayed on under pressure inside final furlong, nearest finish
mid-division, driven and effort over 3f out, soon no impression
held up mid-division, headway 2f out, ridden to lead just over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra
dwelt, pulled hard on outside and soon mid-division, lost back legs over 4f out, weakened well over 2f out
slowly into stride, pulled hard in rear, never dangerous
keen early, held up in touch, hard driven and effort over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
Nonrunner
With Montiboli's margins of victories ever decreasing we think the hat-trick might just be beyond him here and instead we turn to BERTIE VISTA to win this handicap with Fathey also entering calculations. Given the fact he will handle conditions the selection should be able to finally break his maiden's tag at the 20th time of asking. He's been close on a number of occasions, including last time off this mark, and with others dealing with there own obstacles he could take advantage. It looks like the assessor is beginning to get to Montiboli who followed up a cosy success to just get home last time. His mark is up again and this time the extra weight looks slightly restrictive. Fathey found one too good of this mark last time but his best has come on a sounder surface while Zabeel Tower is now well below his last winning mark and should be noted. It's tight stuff this and Bertie Vista is our view of the winner.
Major Magpie (IRE) 7-1 (9-10) Held up mid-division, never near to challenge, 10th of 11, 16l behind Mount Hadley (9-10) at Carlisle 1m hcp 0-80 (4) gd.
Prime Aspiration (USA) 12-1 (8-9) Chased leading pair to over 1f out, regained 3rd inside final furlong until post, 4th of 5, 4l behind Messias Da Silva (8-7) at Lingfield 6f 2yo nov stks (4) pol in Oct '07.
Hartshead 16-1 (8-4) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 11th of 23, 12l behind Charlie Tipple (8-9) at Redcar 1m hcap (2) gd in Oct.
Montiboli (IRE) 3-1fav (9-9) Chased leaders, led under 2f out, soon ridden, held on near finish, won at Ripon 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gd beating Whipma Whopma Gate (8-9) by nk, 12 ran.
Timber Treasure (USA) 10-1 (8-13) Dwelt, soon in touch, pushed along halfway, weakened inside final 2f, 6th of 8, 8l behind Sea Rover (8-11) at Haydock 6f hcp 0-80 (4) fm.
Zabeel Tower 14-1 (10-0) In touch, under pressure over 2f out, ridden to challenge over 1f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 6, 2 1/2l behind Petsas Pleasure (9-3) at Hamilton 1m hcap (5) gf.
Efidium 6-1 (9-0) Mid-division, headway 3f out, ridden and one pace from over 1f out, 5th of 11, 5l behind Dream Express (9-3) at Beverley 7f sell stks (6) gf.
Prospect Court 11-1 (8-10) In rear, well beaten over 1f out, last of 8, 20l behind Sudden Impact (9-10) at Haydock 5f hcp 0-80 (4) sft.
Fathey (IRE) 5-2fav (8-11) Led, ridden and headed inside final furlong, not pace of winner, 2nd of 6, 2 1/2l behind Lucky Dan (8-6) at Hamilton 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Hardanger (IRE) 16-1 (9-4) Soon led, headed over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, last of 15, 39l behind West End Lad (9-9) at Nottingham 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gf.
Fern House (IRE) 14-1 (7-12) In rear, never dangerous, 8th of 10, 15l behind Nufoudh (8-2) at Musselburgh 7f hcp 0-60 (6) gs.
Frill A Minute 200-1 (8-9) Mid-division, soon ridden along, weakened 3f out, 10th of 12, 36l behind Salerosa (8-12) at Southwell 1m mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Nov.
Navajo Joe (IRE) 16-1 (8-8) Always behind, 12th of 14, 12l behind Barricado (8-10) at Newcastle 7f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in May.
Bertie Vista 8-1 (9-6) Led, raced keenly, headed over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 4th of 14, 2l behind He's A Humbug (9-9) at Catterick 7f hcp 0-65 (6) gd.
