soon led, broke down over 5f out, pulled up quickly
mid-division, badly hampered over 5f out, no danger after
mid-division, headway over 1f out, soon chasing leaders, kept on same pace
behind, some late headway, never nearer
chased leaders, hampered over 5f out, effort over 2f out, soon weakened
held up mid-division, headway over 1f out, never on terms
mid-division, lost place over 2f out
chased leaders, weakened over 2f out
tracked leaders, progress to lead over 1f out, headed and no extra towards finish
held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, stayed on same pace final furlong
always prominent, led over 2f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened
tracking leader when hampered and unseated rider over 5f out
Welsh Emperor will relish any further softening of the ground but he is not as good as he once was and a better bet looks to be the three-year-old ABLE MASTER, who gets the nod over Young Pretender. Saeed Bin Suroor's colt escapes a penalty for the Group 3 race win that he had in France in September 2007 and has been lightly raced since then but he ran well on his belated reappearance at Newmarket at the beginning of the month and has solid claims on ground that suits. Golden Desert has yet to prove that he is fully effective on ground this soft, while Jeremy Noseda's Captain Brilliance is lightly raced but is also likely to want faster going. Kevin Ryan's Advanced handles cut in the ground, is in reasonable form and makes more appeal than Mia's Boy, who now seems to be too high in the weights. Rod Millman's Light From Mars was good value for his win at York last time but this is tougher, especially on the slower ground and a better bet looks to be Able Master. Bryan Smart's gelding showed improved form when tackling similar ground to today when successful at York last month and ran to even better form at Redcar subsequently when narrowly beaten in a competitive handicap. He looks worth backing to resume winning ways.
Welsh Emperor (IRE) 80-1 (9-2) 12th of 14, 18l behind Varenar (8-13) at Longchamp(FR) 7f Grp 1 gd.
Advanced 4-1 (9-3) Prominent, soon led, joined halfway, headed before straight, no impression under pressure and kept on same pace from over 1f out, 4th of 7, 1 3/4l behind Duff (9-8) at Tipperary 7f Grp 3 gf.
Appalachian Trail (IRE) 12-1 (9-6) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, never near leaders, 11th of 20, 14l behind Light From Mars (8-13) at York 7f hcp 0-100 (2) gd.
Captain Brilliance (USA) 33-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, in rear, headway under pressure over 2f out, edged left over 1f out, soon beaten and edged right, 6th of 9, 5l behind Confront (9-0) at Newmarket 1m Grp 3 (1) gf.
Garnica (FR) 14-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, ridden halfway, weakened over 1f out, last of 9, 26l behind Eton Rifles (8-9) at Hamilton 6f cond Stakes (2) gd in Sep.
Golden Desert (IRE) 25-1 (9-1) Mid-division, headway over 1f out, stayed on, never on terms, 7th of 20, 3 1/2l behind Royal Rock (9-1) at Ascot 6f Grp 3 (1) gs.
Light From Mars 11-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, led inside final furlong, ran on, won at York 7f hcp 0-100 (2) gd beating Everymanforhimself (9-2) by 2 3/4l, 20 ran.
Mia's Boy 6-1 (9-0) Held up towards rear, chased leaders over 2f out, one pace, 2nd of 11, 2l behind Gitano Hernando (8-9) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f stks (3yo+) (3) pol in Sep.
Pawan (IRE) 18-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, behind and early reminders, ridden over 3f out, never dangerous, last of 9, 16l behind Ingleby Arch (9-2) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs.
Protector (SAF) 66-1 (9-4) Held up stands side group, ridden over 1f out, stayed on to lead stands side group inside final furlong, no chance with far side group, 11th of 25, 6l behind Kaldoun Kingdom (8-12) at Ayr 6f hcap (2) gd in Sep.
Young Pretender (FR) 20-1 (9-0) Prominent, took keen hold, hung right from over 1f out, no impression well inside final furlong, 5th of 9, 2l behind Confront (9-0) at Newmarket 1m Grp 3 (1) gf.
Able Master (IRE) 11-2 (8-12) Prominent, every chance from over 1f out until just held near finish, 2nd of 9, nk behind Musaalem (9-0) at Redcar 7f Listed stks (1) gf.
Courageous (IRE) 22-1 (8-7) Always in rear, eased final furlong, last of 9, 29l behind Khateeb (9-1) at Pontefract 1m Listed stks (1) gd in Jul.
Cyflymder (IRE) 6-1 (8-12) Behind, headway 3f out, ridden to chase winner entering final furlong, kept on held towards finish, 2nd of 4, 3/4l behind Dijeerr (9-4) at Chester 1m cond Stakes (3) gf in Sep.
Icelandic 20-1 (9-1) Mid-division, under pressure halfway, soon beaten, 14th of 20, 8l behind Royal Rock (9-1) at Ascot 6f Grp 3 (1) gs.
