held up in rear, headway approaching 9th, ridden and hung left from 3 out, weakened flat
chased leaders to 9th, tailed off when pulled up before last
keen, mid-division, headway 6th, every chance 3 out, soon ridden, weakened flat
held up in rear, headway 8th, ridden and every chance 3 out, weakened quickly 2 out
chased leader, led 4th, ridden and headed 3 out, weakened quickly
held up, headway approaching 7th, led 3 out, clear last, eased towards finish
mid-division, ridden after 6th, weakened 9th
in touch, went 2nd 7th to after next, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before last
chased leaders, lost place after 6th, no danger after
mid-division, ridden approaching 7th, weakened quickly, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
led to 4th, stayed prominent, outpaced 9th, rallied 2 out, went 2nd last, kept on, no chance with winner
held up, ridden and some headway 2 out, never dangerous
A good competitive handicap here, with plenty of winners involved. Obvious short list candidates are Drumbeater, Brooklyn Brownie, Lutin du Moulin and Union Deux, and we just prefer Lutin du Moulin. Len Lungo's charge relishes a test of stamina on faster ground, and has had plenty in hand when winning twice earlier in the year. Granted, he has to come here and perform well fresh, and that is a slight concern. However, the step up in trip again should be to his liking and he looks good enough. Union Deux is another with proven stamina and any rain would increase his chances significantly, but no this forecast ground he is overlooked. Drumbeater has plenty going for him, except his jumping, which he won in spite of in successive recent outings at Perth. If that improves then he has a major chance once again here, though those wins are meaning a rise in the handicap. Of the others, Brooklyn Brownie was in cracking form in the spring and comes here after a break. His form suggests he'll need the run, but he does love these conditions and can get involved. But we prefer Lutin du Moulin, who may be good enough to land this.
Turaath (IRE) 14-1 (11-12) Held up in rear, headway after 9th, led going well 2 out, ridden out, won at Ludlow 3m hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gd in Mar beating Graffiti Tongue (11-1) by 1/2l, 13 ran.
Le Royal (FR) 9-2 (11-5) Held up in touch, mistake 2nd, pushed along 8th, held when fell 4 out in race won by Lacdoudal (11-5) at Doncaster 2m 3f beg chs (E) gd in Dec, 5 ran.
Brooklyn Brownie (IRE) 4-7fav (11-4) Held up, headway 6th, led and hit 2 out, ridden and edged right approaching last, held on under pressure flat, won at Perth 2m 4f nov hdl (D) gf in Jul beating One Of Them (10-5) by 3/4l, 5 ran.
Flying Fortune (IRE) 11-2 (11-12) Held up in mid-division, mistake 6th, blundered 12th, lost touch 14th, behind when pulled up 5 out in race won by He's The Biz (10-5) at N Abbot 3m 2f nov hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd in Apr, 8 ran.
Oysterhaven (IRE) 8-1 (10-13) Led, hit 2nd, ridden and headed before 2 out, weakened, 9th of 14, 16l behind Back Nine (11-9) at Sandown 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gs in Mar.
Drumbeater (IRE) 11-4 (10-4) Held up and not fluent, headway to track leaders approaching 6th, led after 3 out, mistake last, driven out, won at Perth 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (D) gd in Sept beating Marlborough Sound (11-3) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Lutin du Moulin (FR) 6-5fav (11-4) Held up in touch, headway 3 out, ridden next, led approaching last, stayed on well, won at Sedgefield 2m 5f nov hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gs in May beating River Mist (11-12) by 7l, 6 ran.
Union Deux (FR) 9-2 (11-8) Made all, stayed on strongly to go clear from 2 out, won at Carlisle 3m nov hcp hdl 0-105 (E) hvy in Mar beating Malmo Boy (10-9) by 17l, 7 ran.
Monsieur Georges (FR) 10-1 (11-3) Held up, headway approaching 9th, hit 10th, ridden after 2 out, one pace, 3rd of 8, 7l behind Jackson (11-3) at Hereford 3m 2f mdn hdl (E) gf in Apr.
Ingenu (FR) 16-1 (11-4) In touch until ridden and weakened approaching 15th, 7th of 11, 23l behind Norlandic (10-11) at Exeter 3m 1f hcp chs 0-115 (D) gf in May '03.
Caesar's Palace (GER) 10-1 (11-0) Led to 7th, weakened after 10th, 10th of 15, 32l behind My Lady Link (10-13) at Aintree 3m hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gd in Jun.
Activist 2-5fav (11-5) Led, ridden and headed after 2 out, rallied approaching last, one-paced under pressure, 2nd of 6, 16l behind Whitaside (10-9) at Hexham 2m 4f nov hdl (E) gd in Oct '02.
Good Potential (IRE) 5-1 (10-3) Led until after 2nd, tracked leader, ridden and every chance after 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out, 3rd of 8, 22l behind Little Task (9-12) at Stratford 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-115 (D) gd in Sept.
