held up in rear, headway over 1f out, ridden and stayed on to chase winner inside final furlong, no impression
raced keenly, held up in touch, outpaced 3f out, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace, no impression
tracked winner, challenged 2f out, soon ridden and outpaced, lost 2nd inside final furlong
made all, quickened 3f out, ridden clear final furlong, eased near finish
raced keenly, tracked leaders, outpaced 2f out, soon ridden and lost place, weakened final furlong
It may be worth giving another chance to TRIPITAKA ahead of Satwa Gold and Rocky's Pride. Plenty has to be taken on trust with Michael Jarvis' runner as he proved most disappointing when returned a beaten favourite on his first run since April. He will need to leave that form a long way behind but he had scored readily on debut and may be able to get his career back on track. Satwa Gold is in fine form but his two recent successes have come in claiming company. This isn't a strong handicap by any means and he may have benefited from getting his head in front but similar marks have proved beyond him in the past and there could be some mileage in taking him on at cramped odds. Brett Vale has struggled to regain the heights he reached in the summer and may continue to be best watched whilst Rocky's Pride has never looked straightforwards and failed to take to hurdling. His new yard may well be able to find the key to him and the market should be watched closely as he has the latent ability to win from this perch. Rajamand is another to note in the market as he ran a fair race on debut for this yard at the track and looks sure to be suited by the longer trip. Connections usually have a fair idea as to whether their horses are fairly treated and the betting will be informative. Only five to consider but cases can be made for all of them in an intriguing affair so it's hard to be confident about the selection, Tripitaka.
Brett Vale (IRE) 50-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 12th of 13, 9l behind Wing Play (9-2) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-90 (3) pol in Oct.
Rajamand (FR) 50-1 (8-9) Slowly into stride, held up, pushed along 3f out, one pace and no impression on leaders final 2f, 5th of 8, 9l behind Anmar (8-9) at Kempton 1m 2f stks (3) pol in Nov.
Rocky's Pride (IRE) 25-1 (8-11) Steadied start and always in rear, 12th of 15, 9l behind Decision (8-6) at Windsor 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Oct.
Tripitaka 2-1fav (9-4) Steadied start, raced keenly, soon in mid-division, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, tailed off, 9th of 10, 31l behind Incendo (8-8) at Kempton 1m 4f fll hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Oct.
Satwa Gold (USA) 5-4fav (9-2) Held up in 5th and well off the pace, headway to track leading pair over 3f out, went 2nd and closed on leader 2f out, led over 1f out, pushed clear inside final furlong, won at Kempton 1m 4f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Nov beating Fleur De Lion (8-4) by 4 1/2l, 7 ran.
