pulled hard, tracked leader, led 4f out, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, lost 2nd inside final furlong
held up towards rear, headway when edged right over 1f out, kept on same pace
led 1f, tracked leader after, ridden and weakened 2f out
led after 1f, headed 4f out, soon ridden and weakened 3f out
held up mid-division, lost place approaching 2f out, pushed along and kept on final furlong
steadied start, held up in rear, ridden 2f out, never near leaders
held up in rear, ridden over 4f out, keeping on when short of room over 1f out
held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, ran on to take 2nd inside final furlong, not reach winner
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on but unable to quicken final furlong
tracked leaders, led 2f out, ridden out
A relatively open contest where a number of them have claims and Haarth Sovereign is the nomination, while Robustian is respected and both Shela House and Fongs Gazelle can get heavily involved. Haarth Sovereign scored at Kempton last time and has gone up 8lb as a result, but Walter Swinburn finally looks to have found the key to the gelding, who shaped as though he can improve. Robustian plummeted through the weights before winning at Southwell last time in a first-time visor. Raised 9lb for that and with the headgear unlikely to be quite so effective we will oppose. Shela House steps off turf for the first time so it will be interesting to see how he handles this surface. If he does then he has solid form in the bank and with the yard running in to form is not out of it. Fongs Gazelle acts on the polytrack and over this trip. He comes from a yard going well and should be fit enough first time up and can still be competitive from this mark. Lobengula strung together a four-timer last year but has tended to need a run after a break so we'll take him on from this mark today and side with Haarth Sovereign.
Robustian 4-1 (8-6) Held up, headway over 2f out, quickened clear over 1f out, ran on final furlong, won at Southwell 1m 3f hcap (4) fbs beating Jackie Kiely (8-10) by 6l, 6 ran.
Rapid City 5-1 (8-11) Towards rear, in touch, stayed on inside final furlong, never nearer, 5th of 7, 3 1/2l behind Mr Aviator (9-4) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Mar.
Shela House 15-8fav (9-0) Held up in rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2 1/2l behind Chantaco (9-7) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Oct.
Fongs Gazelle 15-2 (9-0) Towards rear, headway on outside 3f out, challenged 2f out, soon hung right, no impression on leader and lost 2 places well inside final furlong, 4th of 14, 2l behind Sanbuch (9-4) at Goodwood 1m 3f 3yo hcp (3) gf in Aug.
Lobengula (IRE) 6-4fav (9-5) Led, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened quickly, last of 6, 15l behind Hoh Wotanite (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-100 (2) pol in Dec.
Cross The Line (IRE) 22-1 (9-4) Mid-division, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, 5th of 15, 5l behind Cape Hawk (9-4) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Mataram (USA) 11-4 (8-11) Took keen hold in 5th, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, no impression on leaders, 4th of 7, 3 1/2l behind Mr Aviator (9-4) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Mar.
Haarth Sovereign (IRE) 8-1 (9-1) In touch, good headway on outer to lead just inside final furlong, soon clear, ridden out, won at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Mar beating Emperor Court (9-0) by 1 1/2l, 10 ran.
