held up mid-division, headway over 3f out, weakened inside final furlong
held up towards rear, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden well over 1f out, soon one pace
held up in touch, chased leaders over 4f out, weakened 2f out
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
dwelt, held up mid-division, ridden and weakened over 1f out
dwelt, towards rear, headway on outer 2f out, led over 1f out, pressed inside final furlong, kept on and headed close home
held up towards rear, headway over 4f out on inner, weakened over 2f out
towards rear, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on gamely to lead close home
Honest Deal is 5lb lower than when scoring over C&D at this time last year and could be thereabouts. Royal Straight is 7lb higher on his return to action, however, as he won at Musselburgh when last seen in October. Copperwood is not badly weighted on his all-weather form, though 16 starts on turf without a win is off-putting, and Dashing Eddie is another who has done all his winning on artificial surfaces. AVISON is the least exposed and he makes his handicap debut having been beaten by the narrowest of margins at Ayr in October. Richard Fahey's charge should be opening his account this year and it could be today.
Honest Deal 6-1 (9-7) Tracked leaders, outpaced over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 8, 21l behind Sangar (8-9) at Ripon 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) sft in Aug.
Spey Song (IRE) 7-1 (9-7) Dwelt, soon chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 6th of 10, 10l behind Smart Step (9-5) at Beverley 1m 2f fll hcp 0-70 (5) sft in Apr.
Copperwood 12-1 (9-4) Raced wide early, tgracked leader, ridden and every chance over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 5th of 12, 4 1/2l behind Northern Fling (9-8) at Musselburgh 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gs.
Dashing Eddie (IRE) 16-1 (9-6) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 13, 7l behind Thackeray (9-1) at Haydock 1m hcp 0-70 (5) sft in Apr.
Retreat Content (IRE) 20-1 (9-5) Tracked leaders, hampered and lost place over 7f out, weakened over 1f out, 11th of 12, 10l behind Archie Rice (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f app hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Georgebernardshaw (IRE) 15-2 (8-8) Held up towards rear, headway 2f out, ridden and went 4th over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 9, 3 1/2l behind Wiseman's Diamond (8-8) at Pontefract 1m hcp 0-75 (5) hvy.
Avison (IRE) 7-2 (9-3) Raced wide in touch, headway to chase leading pair approaching 2f out, ridden to join winner 1f out, ran on, just held, 2nd of 7, ns behind Mama Sox (8-7) at Ayr 1m 1f mdn stks (5) hvy in Oct.
Royal Straight 11-2 (8-9) Held up towards rear, headway approaching 2f out, soon led, clear over 1f out, stayed on strongly, eased towards finish, won at Musselburgh 1m 1f sell hcp 0-65 (6) gd in Oct beating Monthly Medal (9-3) by 1 1/4l, 12 ran.
Glenluji 7-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, towards rear of mid-division, outpaced over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace, never on terms, 7th of 14, 6l behind Just The Tonic (8-13) at Musselburgh 1m hcp (4) gd in Sep.
Spavento (IRE) 12-1 (8-10) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 13, 6l behind Thackeray (9-1) at Haydock 1m hcp 0-70 (5) sft in Apr.
