keen, led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
held up, ridden, headway entering final furlong, carried head high, stayed on to take 4th towards finish
slowly into stride, always in rear
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened 1f out
tracked leader, ridden 2f out, one pace inside final furlong
steadied start, in rear, ridden 2f out, not troubled leaders
tracked leaders, ridden, effort over 1f out, edged right, unable to quicken inside final furlong
raced wide, mid-division, switched right entering final furlong, ridden, edged left, ran on towards finish, just failed
in touch, ridden to lead inside final furlong, all out
A good quality handicap in which our preference is for seven furlong specialist RAVI RIVER ahead of Hellbender and Fathsta. The selection's last seven form figures over this trip now read 2211261. Having started off life in handicaps with a high rating of 83, he has been able to take advantage of lower marks but he is now rated 80. That is 4lb above his highest winning mark however he is on good terms with himself and he should get the race run to suit. Hellbender is the interesting horse at the bottom of the weights. He dead-heated for first at Kempton last time out and hasn't been unduly punished with a 2lb rise in the weights. At the other end of the handicap sit Fathsta and Spitfire. The former is edging down the weights after two poor runs at Chester in August, whilst the latter is consistent but is ultimately yet to win over this trip. Desert Dreamer and Gallantry both have plenty of experience; the latter is now back down to an attractive looking mark. Stevie Gee has been out of sorts since landing the Carlisle Bell in June and is passed over along with the disappointing Hightime Heroine and the consistent Autumn Blades. Not an easy race to work out however we will plump for Ravi River.
Fathsta (IRE) 5-1 (9-8) Led, headed well over 1f out, weakened quickly and eased, last of 12, 35l behind My Gacho (9-6) at Chester 7f hcp 0-95 (3) gf in Aug.
Spitfire 8-1 (8-11) Slowly into stride, held up in last pair, driven and kept on under pressure inside final furlong, went 3rd near finish, no chance with front pair, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Rock Ascot (9-0) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Oct.
Desert Dreamer (IRE) 22-1 (8-12) Slowly into stride, soon ridden along, mid-division over 4f out, ridden halfway, weakened 2f out, last of 9, 12l behind Sirocco Breeze (9-6) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Oct.
Gallantry 33-1 (9-8) Held up in rear, pushed along 3f out, ridden and some headway final furlong, never a factor, 9th of 13, 7l behind Ithinkbest (9-0) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Oct.
Stevie Gee (IRE) 20-1 (8-13) Held up, never dangerous, 7th of 10, 10l behind Mabait (9-1) at Leicester 1m 3yo hcp 0-90 (3) gf in Oct.
Ravi River (IRE) 20-1 (9-2) Held up in mid-division, headway over 1f out, driven to lead just inside final furlong, kept on well and held on towards finish, won at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Oct beating Trafalgar Square (9-3) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
Trafalgar Square 10-1 (9-6) Dwelt, soon in mid-division, driven along and weakened over 2f out, 8th of 12, 11l behind Compton Blue (9-1) at Windsor 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Oct.
Hightime Heroine (IRE) 4-1fav (9-1) Held up in rear, keeping on at one pace when hampered well inside final furlong, 9th of 14, 6l behind Ravi River (9-2) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Oct.
Autumn Blades (IRE) 7-1 (9-6) Tracked leaders, challenged on bit 2f out, led narrowly 1f out, soon ridden, headed and not quicken inside final furlong, 2nd of 11, 1/2l behind Berbice (9-1) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Hellbender (IRE) 5-2fav (8-12) Held up, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, edged right and challenged inside final furlong, joined post, won at Kempton 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct deadheating with Fault (8-11), 9 ran.
