prominent, mistake 3rd, weakening when mistake 2 out
held up in touch, headway on outside 4 out, weakened soon after next
soon chasing winner, hit 3 out, no impression after next
made all, drew clear after 2 out, unchallenged after
held up well in rear, still last and well adrift 4 out, headway from 2 out, kept on well run-in
held up in rear, some headway 5th, soon ridden and struggling
chased leaders, ridden after 4 out, weakened soon after next
in touch, mistake 4 out, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened
held up, stayed on from 3 out, never reached leaders
An interesting contest where punters should bet with caution, especially given the lack of comparison available with the French form of Paul Nicholls' debutante Five Dream. However, as he is proven on the ground we will side with the gelding to see off Hypnotic Vibes, while there are others worthy of mention. Five Dream has not been seen since winning at Auteuil in May when the ground was bottomless. This won't be as testing, but if it is on the dead side then it will still bring his stamina into play and coming from the connections he does then we can take it on a fair amount of trust that he will be a decent sort. Hypnotic Vibes would probably prefer a genuine sound surface at worst and faster if possible. He won't get that but he has won his last two nicely and merits plenty of respect. the same applies to Wincanton scorer Summer Of Love, while Sainte Kadette has joined David Pipe after winning a three-year-old chase in France and is another who handles cut, so a win for him would be no surprise. Of the others Kanonkop won easily at Market Rasen but could not cope when upped in class last time and has a bit to prove in another competitive heat where Five Dream gets the nod.
Five Dream (FR) (10-3) Disputed lead, led last, stayed on well, won at Auteuil 2m 2f hdl sft in May beating Great Shudder (10-3) by 3/4l, 17 ran.
Hypnotic Vibes (IRE) 4-9fav (11-5) Jumped well, led 2nd, made rest, in command approaching 2 out, stayed on well, ridden out, won at Plumpton 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gf in Sept beating Urban Warrior (10-7) by 4l, 10 ran.
Silmi 4-1 (11-4) Chased leaders, not fluent 5th weakened before 3 out, 3rd of 16, 16l behind Soliya (11-1) at Stratford 2m 3yo nov hdl (3) gd in Sept.
Sainte Kadette (FR) 3-1 (10-10) Led until mistake last, soon recovered and ran on to lead 100yds out, won at Auteuil 2m 1f ch beating Battle Island (10-10) by 2l, 9 ran.
Feeling Peckish (USA) 50-1 (10-5) Led until after 1st, tracked leaders until lost place 3rd, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Devilfishpoker Com (10-12) at Market Rasen 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gs in Jun, 13 ran.
Lemon Silk (IRE) 33-1 (8-10) Took keen hold, led to over 3f out, soon weakened, 11th of 15, 19l behind Perfect Reward (9-1) at Windsor 1m 4f 3yo hcp (5) sft (Flat).
Zafonical Storm (USA) 50-1 (8-13) Squeezed out start, towards rear, lost touch over 2f out, soon eased, tailed off, last of 14, well behind Orchard Supreme (8-8) at Ascot 1m hcp 0-100 (2) gs in Sept (Flat).
Kanonkop 20-1 (10-9) In touch, ridden and lost place when hit 3 out, 6th of 12, 18l behind Falcon's Fire (11-2) at Market Rasen 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (2) gd in Sept.
Summer of Love (IRE) 5-4fav (10-5) In touch, headway to lead 3 out, ridden and jumped right 2 out, clear last, pushed out flat, won at Wincanton 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gf beating Royal Rationale (10-12) by 7l, 10 ran.
Letham Island (IRE) 33-1 (9-6) Led to 4f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 9, 29l behind Veenwouden (9-5) at Salisbury 1m 4f fll hcp (4) gs in Aug (Flat).
