steadied well in rear, headway over 1f out, never on terms
held up in touch, driven and headway over 1f out, soon led, ran on well
went left start, soon led, headed halfway, rallied under pressure 2f out, soon one pace
held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, chased winner inside final furlong, ran on
chased leaders, under pressure over 2f out, soon no impression
tracked leaders, hung left halfway, soon lost place
In a race full of imponderables the vote lands with handicap debutante PEARL ARCH. Looking ultra progressive in two starts the Brian Meehan trained runner got up on similar ground to win his maiden and based on that last run looks fairly treated. Double Dealer is best with cut in the ground but is difficult to assess first time up in this company. Inside is another that looks fairly treated after finishing ahead of a 62 rated winner two starts back while Colebroke can't be ruled out from a yard whose horses often do better once handicapping. A true head scratcher but Pearl Arch looks to be heading in the right direction.
Mutual Force (USA) 12-1 (8-12) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 4th of 5, 9l behind Buthelezi (9-0) at Yarmouth 1m 2yo nov stk (4) gs in Aug.
Double Dealer 5-4fav (9-3) With leader, driven 2f out, soon lost place and ridden, gradually weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 12, 9l behind Jade (8-12) at Pontefract 6f 2yo mdn (4) gf in Sep.
Colebrooke 6-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, kept on same pace final 2f, 6th of 10, 4 1/2l behind Matula (8-12) at Ffos Las 1m 2yo mdn (4) gd in Sep.
Uncle Dermot (IRE) 6-1 (9-3) Led, ridden 2f out, headed inside final furlong and lost 3 places near finish, 5th of 8, 2 3/4l behind Speculate (9-3) at Yarmouth 6f 2yo mdn (5) sft in Sep.
Oliver's Gold 100-1 (9-3) Chased leaders centre, outpaced over 2f out, soon weakened, 25th of 27, 21l behind Fury (9-3) at Newmarket 7f 2yo aut (2) sft.
Inside 2-1 (8-12) Chased leaders, ridden and every chance over 1f out, one pace, 3rd of 8, 4l behind Present Danger (8-12) at Hamilton 6f 2yo mdn (5) gs in Sep.
Sleeping Wolf 16-1 (9-3) Raced centre, chased leaders, weakened and behind halfway, 13th of 16, 27l behind Prophet In A Dream (9-7) at Nottingham 6f 2yo hcp 0-60 (6) sft.
Pearl Arch (IRE) 4-6fav (9-3) Prominent, led entering final furlong, soon ridden, kept on under pressure inside final furlong, held on towards finish, won at Newcastle 6f 2yo mdn (5) gd in Sep beating Calypso Magic (9-3) by nk, 10 ran.
Point Du Jour (FR) 20-1 (9-6) Slowly into stride, behind, headway on inside 2f out, never reached leaders and no impression final furlong, 6th of 10, 6l behind Tamareen (8-11) at Kempton 7f 2yo hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Sep.
