held up in touch, headway on inside from 2f out, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, driven and edged right towards finish
slowly into stride, soon mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, effort when short of room well inside final furlong
always towards rear
led, ridden and hung right well over 1f out, soon headed, weakened inside final furlong
held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, ran on not reach leaders
chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, ran on towards finish
reared start, raced wide, headway over 3f out to chase leaders, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, in rear, stayed on final furlong, never nearer
soon tracked leaders, ridden and every chance over 1f out, kept on same pace
prominent 4f
soon prominent, ridden halfway, weakened well over 1f out
mid-division, ridden 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, never dangerous
The quartet that stand out here are the in-form Fast Freddie, Stormburst, Derek Shaw's Muktasb and Thoughtsofstardom, and the tentative vote goes to Stormburst. Stuart Williams' runner is 2lb lower than when putting in a good effort over this trip at Wolverhampton last time and seems to act well on most of the all weather surfaces. Drawn in a decent pitch and with Eddie Ahern an eyecatching booking she can score. Fast Freddie has been taking his name literally just lately and comes here seeking a hat-trick. However, he is 6lb worse of with Muktasb for less than one length when beating that rival at Wolverhampton last time and his penalty will make this pretty difficult. Muktasb therefore has a decent chance, though he has a 0 from 8 strike rate here and that does not inspire confidence, especially with a car park draw. Thoughtsofstardom is 2lb higher than when being headed by Lost All Alone here over c&d, form that showed he is definitely effective at this trip as well as the minimum. His chance is respected, but we are happy to side with Stormburst.
Fast Freddie 7-2fav (9-0) With leaders, led 2f out, edged right 1f out, driven out, won at W'hampton 5f hcp (6) pol in Nov beating Trinculo (9-0) by a hd, 13 ran.
Thoughtsofstardom 25-1 (8-13) Steadied start, behind, headway over 1f out, ridden to challenge and every chance inside final furlong, no extra close home, 2nd of 11, hd behind Lost All Alone (8-0) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-70 (6) pol in Nov.
Anfield Dream 4-1 (9-2) Led until headed over 1f out, no extra, 4th of 10, 2l behind Grand Palace (8-7) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-70 (6) pol in Nov.
Herb Paris (FR) 20-1 (9-0) Started slowly, soon in touch, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, 9th of 11, 10l behind Ruman (9-0) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Nov.
Ishibee (IRE) 25-1 (8-9) Raced on outer in mid-division, ridden and weakened from 2f out, 11th of 13, 11l behind Millfield (9-0) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Stormburst (IRE) 8-1 (8-0) Broke well, soon steadied towards rear, came wide entering straight, headway final furlong, not reach winner, 2nd of 13, 3/4l behind Tilly's Dream (9-2) at W'hampton 6f fll hcp (5) pol in Nov.
Arfinnit (IRE) 16-1 (8-4) Always in rear, 9th of 12, 6l behind Silver Prelude (9-3) at W'hampton 5f hcap (6) pol in Sept.
Muktasb (USA) 9-1 (8-12) Slowly into stride, in rear, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 13, 3/4l behind Fast Freddie (9-0) at W'hampton 5f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Is It Time (IRE) 25-1 (8-13) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra final furlong, 7th of 14, 2 1/2l behind Ceris Star (8-11) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-50 (6) pol in Nov.
Polish Prize 20-1 (8-11) Never better than mid-division, weakened final furlong, 6th of 12, 5l behind Rosie Cross (8-11) at Kempton 5f 3yo hcp (6) pol in Sept.
Royal Orissa 6-1 (8-11) Chased leaders, ridden 3f out, soon weakened, 9th of 14, 6l behind Ceris Star (8-11) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-50 (6) pol in Nov.
King of Charm (IRE) 20-1 (7-12) Pulled hard and prominent, ridden and every chance from over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 11, 4l behind Joy And Pain (8-12) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Nov.
