tracked leader, un der pressure 4th, soon lost place, behind from 7th, tailed off
mid-division, headway 6th, soon chasing leaders, weakened after 3 out, pulled up next
held up towards rear, headway 4 out, chased leaders next, ridden to challenge 2 out, every chance from last, just failed
soon pushed along in rear, some late headway, never dangerous
mid-division, weakened before 4 out
always prominent, led 5th, clear when hit 2 out, strongly challenged from last, held on gamely
mid-division, ridden and headway 3out, under pressure next, weakening when pulled up before last
chased leaders, pushed along when hit 3 out, soon struggling, kept on under pressure, no chance with leading pair
behind, headway 8th, soon ridden and weakened, behind when pulled up 2 out
mid-division, under pressure 3 out, some headway next, never on terms
led until 5th, weakened after 6th, behind when pulled up soon after 4 out
held up in touch, chased leaders 5th, under pressure 3 out, soon weakened
Amuse Me made giant strides in the autumn, completing his hat-trick when scoring by five lengths at Fontwell in November. Jonjo O'Neill's grey has been put up 16lb since then, however, which will make life tougher in the future. Lemon Silk was well beaten off his new mark at Folkestone last month, but Huntingdon winner I've Been Framed is probably capable of further improvement along with Schumpters Lad. This, though, could be an opportunity for SLEW CHARM to regain the winning thread. Noel Chance's gelding found the going too testing when favourite at Lingfield last time but today's conditions should be ideal and he can reverse Sandown running with Lemon Silk on this easier course.
Anak (IRE) 15-2 (11-9) Chased eaders, chased clear leader from 4th, driven after 8th, weakened before next, tailed off, 9th of 11, 35l behind Stow (10-11) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Nov.
Schumpters Lad (IRE) 2-1 (11-9) Moderate 5th, close 4th 4 out, 3rd before 3 out, soon ridden, no extra from before last, 3rd of 9, 15l behind First Beauty (11-0) at Roscommon 2m 4f nh nov hdl gf in Jul.
Caught By Witness (IRE) 8-1 (10-11) Prominent, ridden and outpaced by leaders over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 4th of 9, 10l behind Pepe Simo (11-0) at Kempton 2m Nat Hunt Flat (4yo+) (AWT) (4) std in Dec.
Tarvini (IRE) 80-1 (11-3) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened before 3 out, 12th of 23, 47l behind Aegean Dawn (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gs in Nov.
Bureaucrat 12-1 (11-2) Mid-division, headway 6th, lost place next, soon behind, 10th of 13, 24l behind Sendali (10-0) at Catterick 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Jan '10.
I've Been Framed (IRE) 9-1 (11-10) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 5th, led before next, driven and stayed on well flat, won at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Nov beating Laustra Bad (11-2) by 2 1/2l, 13 ran.
Slew Charm (FR) 10-3fav (11-6) Raced on inside, tracked leading trio, hit 3 out, went 2nd and not fluent 2 out, no impression when dropped to 3rd approaching and hit last, weakened flat, 3rd of 9, 6l behind Alph (11-5) at Lingfield 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) hvy in Nov.
Amuse Me 11-10fav (11-2) Raced widest of all with runner up and held up in rear, went left 5th, smooth headway before 4 out, 3rd on bit 3 out, challenged and hit 2 out, led between last 2, went left last, came readily clear flat, easily, won at Fontwell 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs in Nov beating Lepido (11-3) by 5l, 10 ran.
Charingworth (IRE) 25-1 (10-7) Mid-division on outside, headway 8f out, ridden 6f out, weakened 5f out, 9th of 10, 38l behind The Hollinwell (11-0) at Southwell 2m Nat Hunt Flat (4yo+) (AWT) (4) std in Dec.
Super Directa (GER) 12-1 (11-0) Led, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, soon beaten, 3rd of 14, 8l behind Stage Acclaim (10-4) at Lingfield 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd in Mar '09.
Horseshoe Reef (AUS) 20-1 (11-2) Went left at some fences, chased leader, led 6th until before next, chased leader until 13th, lost 3rd before 4 out, modest 4th when left 3rd 4 out, lost that position closing stages, 4th of 5, well behind Key Cutter (11-2) at Kempton 3m beg chs (4) gd in Nov.
Decision 15-2 (10-7) Mid-division, not fluent 4th, headway after next, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 10, 24l behind Dona (11-7) at Huntingdon 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs in Nov.
Lemon Silk (IRE) 4-1fav (11-7) Behind, ridden and headway after 2 out, went 3rd before last, kept on, no chance with leading pair, 3rd of 17, 19l behind Prince Du Seuil (11-12) at Folkestone 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) sft in Dec.
