held up in rear, pushed along and struggling 4f out, never a factor, well tailed off
well away, led 2f, settled handy 3rd 7f out, pushed along over 2f out, led again over 1f out, stayed on well, readily
mid-division on outside, no impression final furlong
keen and prominent, went 2nd 7f out, led 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
chased leaders, pushed along well over 3f out, ridden and weakened inside final 2f
held up towards rear, headway on inside chasing leaders 2f out, not clear run and squeezed through approaching final furlong, kept on same pace inside final furlong
keen in touch in mid-division, not clear run and switched right inside final 2f, headway on outside over 1f out, kept on same pace inside final furlong
chased leaders, went 2nd inside final furlong, well held, lost 2nd final strides
dwelt, took keen hold, headway from wide draw to lead over 8f out, pushed along over 2f out, headed 2f out, lost 2nd soon after, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, towards rear, pushed along and weakened 3f out
Mr Top Hat finished runner-up over a shorter trip here last time but has yet to race over this far. By contrast, SIMOON drops down in distance having found one too good over 1m3f at Kempton recently and Ed Walker’s charge gets a tentative vote on that form in an open contest. Occupy went close over 1m4f at Wolverhampton while Hollydaze won a lower grade handicap over today’s trip at Brighton in August. Empress Ali is usually thereabouts at this level without winning but gets little respite from the handicapper as a consequence.
Empress Ali (IRE) 6-1 (9-5) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, kept on one pace, 3rd of 6, 4 1/4l behind Lorelina (9-7) at Haydock 1m 2f hcp fll (2) hvy in Sep.
Mukhayyam 9-2 (9-8) Mid-division, switched right inside final 2f, headway soon after, kept on into modest 3rd post, 3rd of 9, 4l behind Francis Xavier (9-10) at Pontefract 1m 2f hcp (3) gd in Sep.
Fast Dancer (IRE) 25-1 (9-7) Led 1f, tracked leaders, ridden on outside 2f out, edged left inside final furlong, no impression final 100 yards, 8th of 15, 3 3/4l behind Archi's Affaire (9-8) at Hamilton 1m 4f hcp (3) gs in Aug.
Mr Top Hat 7-1 (9-4) Held up towards rear, ridden over 5f out, headway 1f out, ran on, went 2nd post, 2nd of 11, 3/4l behind Dark Intention (9-2) at Chester 1m hcp (3) sft in Sep.
Hollydaze (IRE) 6-1 (9-6) Tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced inside final 2f, rallied inside final furlong, ran on well to lead towards finish, won at Brighton 1m 2f hcp fll (4) gd in Aug beating Affina (9-3) by 2l, 6 ran.
Lunar Jet 5-1 (9-7) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, last of 5, 9 3/4l behind Cote d'Azur (10-0) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp (3) gf in Jul.
Occupy (USA) 9-4fav (8-13) In touch in mid-division, not clear run over 2f out, headway to lead just over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, stayed on, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Spiral Galaxy (9-4) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (3) pol in Sep.
Shabbah (IRE) 20-1 (9-13) Always behind, 9th of 10, dist behind Red Force One (9-1) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp (4) gd in Aug.
Simoon (IRE) 3-1jfav (9-9) Led 1f, tracked leaders, effort over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, never reached winner, 2nd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Podemos (9-5) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp (4) pol in Sep.
Zoffalee (FR) 17-2 (9-4) Held up, headway over 1f out, chased leaders over 1f out, chased leaders inside final furlong, never a threat, 6th of 14, 4 1/4l behind Fondest (9-3) at Haydock 1m hcp (4) gs in Sep.
Bachelor (IRE) 50-1 (9-7) Dwelt, soon mid-division, one pace from before straight, 9th of 15, 15 1/4l behind Baba Boom (9-3) at Galway 1m 4f hcp Yielding in Jul.
Kenstone (FR) 8-1 (9-7) Keen held up, headway over 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace from over 1f out, 7th of 12, 4 1/2l behind Dragons Voice (9-4) at Sandown 1m hcp (4) gd in Sep.
