soon led, pushed along 5f out, headed 4f out, soon beaten, eased when no chance final 2f
tracked leaders in 3rd, went 2nd over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, led near finish
held up in 5th, headway to track leader 4f out to over 1f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leader, led 4f out, headed 2f out, chased leader to over 1f out, no extra final furlong
in rear, ridden and lost touch final 4f, tailed off
tracked leaders in 4th, not clear on rails over 2f out until led 2f out, kept on well until headed near finish
Salute continues to rise up the weights and despite getting weight form the whole field, a 4lb rise may be enough to stop him going in again in this better company so we will take him on with Hughie Morrison's Odiham. The selection can be excused his latest flop because of the heavy ground but he had previously won a decent Listed contest over course and distance and a repeat of that run should be enough to take this contest. The stable continue to fire in the winners and with jockey Steve Drowne also in the money recently, Odiham could be hard to beat. Shabernak is returning from a lengthy break but certainly has the class to win if fit enough so should be watched in the market for signs of support. Salute has been a good winner of some weak handicaps of late and cannot be underestimated however this is his toughest task to date. Galient was last seen in the St Ledger but should have an exciting season over staying trips this year but may just need the run, whilst King's Head has since left Michael Jarvis' stable but shouldn't be ruled out returning from a run over hurdles. A tricky little handicap then can go the way Odiham.
Shabernak (IRE) 6-1 (9-3) Led 1f, chased leader, led again 10f out, headed over 2f out, no extra, 3rd of 9, 6l behind Frank Sonata (9-0) at Nottingham 1m 6f lst stk (1) sft.
Odiham (9-4) Soon ridden along, dropped back quickly 6f out, last of 17, more than 36l behind El Tango (9-4) at Saint-Cloud 1m 7f stk in Nov.
King's Head (IRE) 6-5fav (9-7) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, last of 4, 7l behind Steppe Dancer (9-2) at W'hampton 1m 4f 3yo hcp (2) pol in Aug.
Galient (IRE) 18-1 (9-0) Led, headed over 4f out, soon weakened, tailed off 3f out, last of 11, 36l behind Sixties Icon (9-0) at York 1m 6f 3yo Grp 1 (1) gd in Sept.
Helvetio (8-11) Held up, never nearer, 8th of 14, 8l behind Trezene (9-1) at Saint-Cloud 1m 4f stk gd in Oct.
Salute (IRE) 20-1 (9-2) Mid-division, headway over 4f out, went 2nd just over 2f out, led over 1f out, ridden and ran on well inside final furlong, won at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar beating Pass The Port (9-3) by 1 1/2l, 12 ran.
