chased leader until ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon beaten
soon pushed along, always behind, no chance when rider dropped whip over 4f out
chased leaders, ridden to lead over 2f out, clear over 1f out, stayed on well
In the opener, maybe Oddsmaker is the one to beat with Halla San and True Companion rating as his biggest dangers. True Companion likes the going and, even tough he is five pounds above a previous-best winning mark, looks likely to go well. However, Oddsmaker is just a pound above a winning mark and, if you trace his form back far enough, he has shown that he can act on heavy. Halla San will like the going and is reasonably-enough weighted so also has to be considered, while Smart John should be sharper for a couple of runs and is not unreasonably weighted if back to his best. Finally, carrying a six-pounds penalty for his Leicester win, Leslingtaylor also holds claims, although he does not have strong soft ground form. All in all, then, once again the vote goes to Oddsmaker.
True Companion 16-1 (9-3) In touch, ridden over 3f out, one pace final 2f, 4th of 8, 3l behind Noble Gent (9-10) at Newmarket 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Aug.
Oddsmaker (IRE) 6-1 (9-6) Set good pace, ridden 2f out, soon headed, weakened quickly over 1f out, 8th of 11, 16l behind Ariodante (8-6) at Brighton 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) frm in Aug.
Smart John 7-1 (9-8) Prominent, lost place over 8f out, weakened 3f out, last of 9, 24l behind Fear To Tread (9-3) at Warwick 1m 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Aug.
Leslingtaylor (IRE) 11-2 (8-7) Pulled hard, chased leader 10f out, led over 2f out, ridden clear over 1f out, won at Leicester 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Aug beating Love Always (9-6) by 1 1/2l, 10 ran.
Halla San 5-6fav (11-2) Held up in rear, headway over 2f to race stands' side, ridden and one pace final 2f, 4th of 9, 5l behind Champagne Shadow (10-5) at Catterick 1m 4f amt hcp (5) sft in Aug.
