tracked leader, led 2f out, ridden and headed inside final furlong
held up in rear, ran wide into straight 2f out, headway entering final furlong, stayed on to lead post
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
raced wide in mid-division, headway to track leaders over 3f out, pushed along to lead well inside final furlong, caught post
raced wide held up, headway on outer over 1f out, kept on never nearer
led, ridden and headed 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
towards rear, never on terms
in touch, ridden 2f out, led briefly inside final furlong, kept on
dwelt in rear, headway on inside to chase leaders over 3f out, weakened 2f out
held up towards rear, ridden over 3f out, no impression
slowly into stride, soon switched left, always in rear
in rear, ridden and ran on final furlong, not reached leaders
This kind of contest can always be a HEADACHE to solve, but we'll side with Brendan Duke's hat-trick seeking gelding, in preference to Goodbye Cash and Global Village. Headache won a similar race last week when giving away much more weight to his rivals and that was from a poor draw. He likes to be prominent, and the lower draw today can only increase confidence if able to repeat that. Prior to that he'd also won a Wolverhampton handicap when David Probert was doing the steering, but Matthew Lawson's fine ride on him last time sees him keep the job again today. Goodbye Cash drops down to the level at which he last won over course and distance, albeit in a seller. Global Village is Debbie Mountain's first runner of the year and is having his first run since the summer. He's won a couple of times over this trip at Kempton, but it remains to be seen how effective he is going the other way around. Stanley Goodspeed ended a losing run of more than three years when winning here on Wednesday, but that was over a mile, and it seemed he took to the longer trip. Market support would encourage us, but we'll side with the very much in-form Headache.
Headache 7-2fav (9-6) Chased leader, led 3f out, hard ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, held on near finish, won at Lingfield 7f app hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan beating Straight Face (8-13) by nk, 11 ran.
Stanley Goodspeed 7-1 (8-13) Pulled hard in mid-division, ridden over 1f out headway to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Lingfield 1m app hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Lopinot (9-1) by 1l, 11 ran.
Goodbye Cash (IRE) 6-1 (9-0) Took keen hold, close up, pushed along 3f out, one pace and no impression from over 1f out, 5th of 8, 2 1/2l behind Billberry (9-4) at Lingfield 7f hacp 0-70 (5) pol in Jan.
War And Peace (IRE) 9-2fav (8-0) In rear, pushed along and headway over 1f out, eased near finish, 6th of 11, 1 3/4l behind Cheap Thrills (8-7) at Southwell 6f clm stks 0-70 (6) fbs in Dec.
Grey Boy (GER) 16-1 (8-7) Mid-division, effort over 2f out, soon weakened, 8th of 12, 15l behind Erinjay (9-5) at Kempton 1m app hcp (0-70) (4yo+) (5) pol in Jan.
Ever Cheerful 33-1 (8-8) Raced wide, tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened entering final 2f, last of 12, 12l behind Benandonner (9-0) at Lingfield 7f clm stks (6) pol in Dec.
Suhayl Star (IRE) 12-1 (8-8) Held up in touch, headway to chase leaders over 2f out, never on terms, 7th of 12, 2 3/4l behind Fazbee (9-0) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jan.
Bollywood Style 6-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, hard ridden over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong, 5th of 11, 3 1/2l behind Headache (9-6) at Lingfield 7f app hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan.
Haasem (USA) 14-1 (9-3) Pushed along towards rear, one pace over 1f out, 6th of 11, 9l behind Carmenero (9-4) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan.
One Cool Dream 16-1 (9-3) Always behind, 12th of 13, 37l behind Dontuwishitwereso (8-6) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Jan.
Dickie Le Davoir 15-2 (8-5) Slowly into stride and outpaced, ridden and kept on final furlong, never nearer, 4th of 9, 4l behind Wyatt Earp (9-4) at Wolverhampton 6f app hcp (0-70) (4yo+) (5) pol.
Count Ceprano (IRE) 14-1 (9-2) Behind, ridden halfway, never dangerous, 13th of 15, 18l behind Captain Flasheart (9-1) at Yarmouth 7f hcp 0-60 (6) gf in Sep.
Global Village (IRE) 5-2fav (9-2) Held up in rear, pushed along 4f out, headway over 2f out, soon under strong pressure, kept on to take 3rd entering final furlong, no impression, 3rd of 10, 1 3/4l behind Cool Ebony (9-10) at Windsor 1m app hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Aug.
Know No Fear 12-1 (8-6) Pulled hard and close up, chased winner over 3f out until over 2f out, 8th of 9, 12l behind Wyatt Earp (9-4) at Wolverhampton 6f app hcp (0-70) (4yo+) (5) pol.
