held up in rear, ridden 3f out, never near leaders
pulled hard, held up in last place, pushed along 2f out, never near leaders
soon led, ridden 2f out, hung right final furlong, headed post
tracked leader until 3f out, ridden and soon weakened, eased final furlong
in touch, ridden to chase leader 3f out, edged right then left over 1f out, kept on one pace
held up mid-division, improved 4f out, ridden and one paced final 2f
steadied start, soon switched left, held up in rear, pushed along over 2f out, ridden to go third over 1f out, stayed on to lead post
ALONSO DE GUZMAN can take the opener, with the main rivals expected to be Tender Falcon and Mustajed, although it does look pretty open, with none of the field of 8 just there to make up the numbers. Jim Boyle's gelding has had a couple of months off the track since a first and second at Haydock. It'll be his first time at the course, but he's previously enjoyed success on the all-weather at Wolverhampton. He's not a world beater, and is fairly treated. Mustajed hasn't won for nearly a year but keeps threatening to, before finding one or two too good, but he's handicapped to land one. He's Rod Millman's only runner on the card, and although top weight, son James takes off a handy 3 pounds. Tender Falcon was third last time out here in a seller after a year away. He's got plenty in hand with the weights, and should come into calculatiuons. Our preference though is for Alonso de Guzman.
Mustajed 7-1 (9-8) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out. led 1f out, headed well inside final furlong, 2nd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Five Two (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Red Wine 20-1 (8-10) Towards rear, ridden along over 4f out, some late headway, never reached challenging position, 8th of 20, 9l behind Wells Lyrical (9-3) at Doncaster 1m 7f hcp 0-85 (4) gd.
Alonso de Guzman (IRE) 4-7fav (9-0) Tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, kept on final furlong, not pace to challenge winner, 2nd of 6, 3/4l behind Zed Candy (8-1) at Haydock 1m 6f hcp 0-70 (5) gs in Aug.
Dhehdaah 22-1 (9-6) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 8, 14l behind Gala Evening (9-11) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Apr.
Inspirina (IRE) 15-2 (9-1) Held up, ridden 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 7, 15l behind Hits Only Vic (10-0) at Haydock 1m 6f hcap (4) hvy in Sept.
Augustus John (IRE) 14-1 (9-6) Chased leaders, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 9, 9l behind Superior Star (8-8) at Hamilton 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gs in Aug.
Tender Falcon 12-1 (9-2) In rear, headway on outside to go modest 3rd over 2f out, soon driven along, kept on final furlong, nearest finish, 3rd of 13, 3l behind Veloso (9-2) at Great Leighs 1m 5f sll (6) pol.
Garrulous (UAE) 7-1 (9-9) Steadied start, held up behind, headway well over 2f out, no chance over 1f out, one pace, 7th of 12, 14l behind Coda Agency (9-8) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol.