settled in rear, not far away, ridden and outpaced over 1f out, driven and ran on strongly to take 3rd well inside final furlong
close up, improved to dispute 2nd over 3f out, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
tracked leader, led over 8f out, ridden 2f out, pressed inside final furlong, headed towards finish
led, headed over 8f out, tracked leader after, ridden over 1f out, driven to press leader inside final furlong, gained upper hand towards finish
keen, raced wide, in touch, headway to press leader briefly 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace from over 1f out
Gunslinger is interesting now returned to the flat however MANNLICHEN has a more enticing profile and is selected. Mark Johnston's three-year-old was well-fancied last time out at Kempton but had to settle for second spot behind Mildoura. He races off the same mark of 78 today and is one of the few proven stayers in the race. Aurorian steps up in trip and there is a case to say that it might unlock some further improvement (dam stayed well) and he looks well-handicapped. Inch Lodge is a proven stayer; Debbie Mountain's son of Grand Lodge is a pound out of the weights but is now below his last winning mark. Slip has had a successful 2009 but was disappointing over hurdles when seen last month. He has a little to prove outside of claiming/selling company especially over this longer trip. Completing the field is Gunslinger who, like Slip, has been running over hurdles. His form in that sphere stacks up quite well and he is still unexposed on the flat so deserves plenty of respect with a top jockey booked. An intriguing contest to finish with, where Mannlichen is taken to get back some of the Kempton losses.
Gunslinger (FR) 16-1 (9-5) Held up, good headway 3f out, ridden and every chance from over 1f out, disputed lead inside final furlong, led post, won at Nottingham 1m 2f mdn stks 0-80 (5) gs in Oct beating Cotillion (9-0) by ns, 10 ran.
Slip 4-1 (9-11) Held up, improved to 4th over 2f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out, 4th of 7, 8l behind What's Up Doc (9-7) at Epsom Downs 1m 2f clm stks (5) gd in Jul.
Mannlichen 4-5fav (9-1) Prominent, led after 2f, ridden over 1f out, headed and unable to quicken well inside final furlong, 2nd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Mildoura (9-8) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) std in Nov.
Aurorian (IRE) 6-1 (8-11) Held up in touch, stayed on final furlong, no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 12, 3l behind Tinshu (8-10) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Inch Lodge 16-1 (9-9) Prominent, chased winner over 3f out until over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 4th of 13, 10l behind Shadows Lengthen (8-10) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Nov.
