held up in rear, tracked leaders after 3 out, went 3rd before last, driven and kept on same pace flat, no real impression
led before 1st, driven when pressed 2 out, headed narrowly last, soon ridden, kept on, held inside final 100 yards
tracked leaders, poised to challenge 2 out, led narrowly when mistake last, ridden clear inside final 100 yards
tracked leaders, hit 2 out, ridden before last, no impression in 4th flat
led to before 1st, tracked leader, lost place 2 out, soon ridden and weakened, tailed off
RAYVIN BLACK boasts pretty good form on ground with plenty of give. A run at Kempton in the autumn should have shaken off a few cobwebs and he is getting 14lb from Court Minstrel, who was well beaten of his new mark at Newbury. Winning Spark will handle conditions and was only beaten half-a-length off this mark at Wincanton when returning from a break but course winner Stamp Your Feet needs forgiving a poor run at Cheltenham. Thunder Sheik looks out of his depth in this company.
Court Minstrel (IRE) 16-1 (11-12) Held up in rear, pecked badly 3 out, no chance after, 9th of 12, 18 1/4l behind Old Guard (11-12) at Newbury 2m 5f hcp (2) gs in Dec.
Rayvin Black 16-1 (11-0) Led, mistake and headed 2 out, mistake last, weakened run-in, 5th of 6, 19 1/2l behind Old Guard (11-0) at Kempton 2m lst (1) gd in Oct.
Stamp Your Feet (IRE) 7-1 (11-3) Towards rear, pushed along after 4 out, weakened 2 out, pulled up last, at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp (3) sft in Nov.
Winning Spark (USA) 20-1 (11-1) Held up towards rear, headway 2 out, left 3rd from last, kept on to take 2nd place towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Buckhorn Timothy (11-12) at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp (3) sft in Nov.
Thunder Sheik (IRE) 16-1 (11-5) Tracked winner, lost place 4 out, driven and outpaced before next, weakened 2 out, 8th of 14, 30 3/4l behind Bobble Emerald (11-3) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (3) gd in Oct.
