slowly into stride, always behind, outpaced, 4f out, eased final furlong
led, headed 2f out, soon lost place and ridden, kept on same pace, no impression inside final furlong
tracked leaders, driven and lost place 2f out, weakened final furlong
slowly into stride, mid-division, headway on outside 4f out, led 2f out, ridden and hard pressed over 1f out, headed narrowly inside final furlong, kept on, just held
tracked leader, ridden and effort inside final 2f, lost place 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, lost place over 1f out, no impression final furlong
mid-division, headway over 3f out, ridden and effort on outside over 1f out, stayed on to lead narrowly inside final furlong, just held on
tracked leaders, challenged over 2f out, ridden and every chance over 1f out until inside final furlong, one pace
slowly into stride, mid-division, driven to chase leaders over 2f out, ridden and stayed on well inside final furlong, went 3rd towards finish, no impression with front pair
towards rear, hampered after 4f, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, never on terms
held up mid-division when slipped and fell after 4f
held up behind, hampered after 4f, some headway into mid-division on inside over 3f out, driven and one pace 2f out, eased when weakened inside final furlong
Luca Cumani has won this three times in recent years so Havana Cooler, who hasn't been beaten far in his last three starts in very tough handicaps, looks just the type for this. He'll have no problems staying the trip nor will Continuum, who landed the John Smith's Silver Cup at York over the distance, nor Big Thunder, who won a Haydock handicap in September and will have needed his comeback in the Northumberland Plate. REPEATER finished an excellent third in that Newcastle event before being just beaten by Havana Beat at Sandown. He's a very quirky individual but Ryan Moore gets a chance to make up for that last run and hopefully can galvanise his mount to victory. Kings Bayonet has won over 2m4f over timber so he'll have no problems staying and had the pace to score over 1m4f on fast ground at Chester. He should go well as should Dashing Star, runner-up in York's Melrose handicap over the trip last August.
Shwaiman (IRE) 8-1 (10-0) Last to break, held up towards rear, driven over 2f out, switched right over 1f out, stayed on final 100 yards, never in contention, 7th of 8, 4 1/2l behind Continuum (9-6) at York 1m 6f listed hcp 0-110 (1) gf.
Repeater 5-2 (9-0) Reluctant to leave stalls and lost ground start, held up 4th and last, went 3rd over 6f out, switched inside to challenge 1f out, led just inside final furlong, soon ridden, kept on, headed final stride, 2nd of 4, hd behind Havana Beat (9-0) at Sandown 2m Listed stks (1) gf.
Dashing Star 8-1 (9-6) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, staying on when hampered inside final furlong, 4th of 15, 1 1/2l behind De Rigueur (9-4) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (4yo+) (2) gs.
Mirsaale 20-1 (9-1) Led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 4th of 5, 13l behind Freedom's Light (8-10) at Pontefract 1m 4f Listed stks (1) gd in Jun.
Havana Cooler (IRE) 10-3fav (9-5) Held up, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, no impression inside final furlong, 6th of 15, 2 1/4l behind De Rigueur (9-4) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (4yo+) (2) gs.
Continuum 11-1 (9-6) Steadied soon after start, held up, pushed along and not much room over 2f out, headway soon after, led inside final furlong, stayed on well, won at York 1m 6f listed hcp 0-110 (1) gf beating Waila (9-9) by 3/4l, 8 ran.
Big Thunder 14-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, soon weakened, 17th of 19, 43l behind Angel Gabrial (8-12) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gf in Jun.
Kelinni (IRE) 8-1 (9-2) Took keen hold, held up in last trio, headway on wide outside over 1f out, stayed on under pressure inside final furlong, never quite able to challenge, 5th of 10, 1 1/2l behind Al Saham (9-7) at Windsor 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) gd in Jun.
Van Percy 9-1 (8-11) Switched left from wide draw start, held up in rear, outpaced 3f out, stayed on into mid-division final 2f, never near leaders, 9th of 19, 12l behind Angel Gabrial (8-12) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gf in Jun.
Boite (IRE) 20-1 (9-10) Always towards rear, never a factor, 8th of 10, 19l behind Maid In Rio (8-5) at Ascot 2m hcp 0-100 (2) gd.
Noble Silk 14-1 (9-0) Held up towards rear, headway on inside 2f out, ridden and stayed on to chase leaders inside final furlong, held when not much room towards finish, 4th of 19, 6l behind Angel Gabrial (8-12) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gf in Jun.
Saptapadi (IRE) 9-2 (11-0) Held up in mid-division, headway over 2f out, driven over 1f out, went 2nd and stayed on well inside final furlong, unable to trouble winner, 2nd of 10, 1l behind Pearl Castle (10-13) at York 1m 4f ladys hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Jun.
White Nile (IRE) 5-1fav (9-7) Keen, towards rear, headway to mid-division 5f out, ridden and switched right 3f out, not clear run 2f out, soon switched left, never a factor, 10th of 13, 9l behind Number One London (8-9) at Goodwood 2m hcp 0-90 (3) gd in Jun.
Kings Bayonet 14-1 (9-8) In rear, headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, kept on, won at Chester 1m 4f hcp 0-90 (3) gf beating Xinbama (9-5) by 1l, 9 ran.
