tracked leader, driven and lost place over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong
tracked leaders, led well over 2f out, headed and ridden 1f out, no extra
slowly into stride, behind and soon outpaced, lost touch halfway, tailed off
held up behind, headway on outside 2f out, ridden over 1f out, ran on well inside final furlong to lead final 50 yards
tracked leading pair, driven 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace final furlong, no impression when lost 3rd towards finish
slowly into stride, behind, outpaced on outside 2f out, never dangerous
mid-division, driven over 2f out, ridden inside final furlong, stayed on to take 3rd towards finish, no impression with front pair
mid-division on inside, headway inside final 2f, ridden to lead 1f out, kept on until headed and not pace of winner final 50 yards
mid-division, lost place over 2f out, soon ridden and behind
in touch, ridden and lost place inside final 2f, weakened final furlong
led, headed well over 2f out, kept on and every chance over 1f out, soon ridden, weakened final 100 yards
It's hard to make a strong case for any of this bunch. VENTURA SANDS gets the speculative vote as he clearly didn't act on the Fibresand last time but had finished a close-up fifth on the Polytrack at Wolverhampton before that. Kingswinford has claims on his best form but will need luck in-running from a high draw while Fonterutoli was still beaten three lengths when runner-up in a lower grade race here last month. Storm Runner is also upped in class, having won over C&D recently, and the remainder are even harder to fancy.
Ventura Sands (IRE) 12-1 (9-5) Chased leaders, weakened over 2f out, 10th of 13, 21l behind Royal Holiday (8-12) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Nov.
Aquilifer (IRE) 40-1 (8-13) Always in rear, 9th of 11, 8l behind Corporal Maddox (9-6) at Lingfield 7f clm stks (6) pol in Nov.
Dan's Martha 33-1 (8-12) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, not clear run over 2f out, headway over 1f out, no impression inside final furlong, 6th of 10, 7l behind Mrs Dee Bee (9-5) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f fll hcp (0-75) (3yo+) (5) pol in Sep '11.
Honey Of A Kitten (USA) 18-1 (8-6) Always towards rear, weakened over 3f out, 5th of 8, 14l behind Desert Vision (9-1) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f clm stks (6) pol in Nov.
May's Boy 20-1 (8-10) Held up off the pace in 4th and 5th, pushed along over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, eased when no chance inside final furlong, 7th of 8, 8l behind Golden Tempest (9-8) at Sandown 1m hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Sep.
Marvo 40-1 (8-8) Dwelt, always in rear, 8th of 10, 6l behind Trois Vallees (9-4) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Fonterutoli (IRE) 12-1 (9-3) In rear, ridden and headway entering final furlong, soon chased winner, no chance, 2nd of 11, 3l behind Chrissycross (9-5) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Nov.
Storm Runner (IRE) 5-2fav (9-2) Towards rear, ridden over 2f out, headwayover 1f out, kept on towards finish, 5th of 14, 1/2l behind Rapid Water (9-2) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Man Of My Word 9-1 (9-2) Prominent, ridden over 3f out, lost place over 2f out, 9th of 11, 9l behind Maggie Pink (8-13) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-62 (6) pol in Nov.
Flying Phoenix 13-2 (8-12) 6th of 13, 3l behind Titan Diamond (8-0) at Bath 1m hcp (6) gs in May.
Putin (IRE) 50-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, chased leaders, driven to challenge over 2f out, soon one pace, 6th of 13, 11l behind Bold Marc (9-0) at Southwell 1m sell stks (6) fbs in Nov.
Kingswinford (IRE) 11-1 (8-11) In rear, headway entering final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 8, 2 1/4l behind Dream Win (8-5) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f app hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
