held up in touch, good headway going well over 2f out, led over 1f out, soon clear, eased inside final furlong, readily
pulled hard, led narrowly, ridden and headed over 1f out, kept on, lost 2nd well inside final furlong
prominent, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
pulled hard in touch, under pressure over 1f out, no progress soon weakened
slowly into stride, in rear, mainly outpaced, headway under pressure over 1f out, kept on nearest finish
took keen hold early, always behind, hard ridden 3f out, never dangerous
mid-division, headway wide to chase leaders 2f out, no extra over 1f out, one pace
held up towards rear, slightly checked on inner over 2f out, kept on steadily from over 1f out, nearest finish
with leader, ridden 3f out, weakened from 2f out
behind, headway when slightly hampered on rail over 2f out, stayed on to take 2nd well inside final furlong, not trouble winner
Nonrunner
In a race that will take little winning, House Martin is selected to get the better of Rowan Warning, Glad Big and Duxford. In truth nothing stands out too much here, but based on last year's form, House Martin should be capable of opening her account. Conor Dore's filly finished second off a mark of 69 in a fillies' handicap at Newbury last July when trained by Andrew Balding, and although not able to build on that effort subsequently, she will be all the better for her first outing for her new yard at Wolverhampton on Boxing Day. Rowan Warning is another that has changed stables since the summer, and he too will be all the better for his first run back at Wolverhampton, while Glad Big was somewhat unlucky here on his first outing since May when pushed very wide on the bend, and can be given some sort of a chance. Duxford was a very promising second here in October 2004 and was having his first run since when third at Wolverhampton in December. He will improve for the outing and can be followed as time goes on, but today our very tentative vote goes to House Martin.
Duxford 5-1 (9-0) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 7l behind Baba Ghanoush (8-9) at W'hampton 7f mdn stk (5) pol in Dec.
Glad Big (GER) 14-1 (9-3) Held up in rear, going well over 2f out, hung left but ran on final furlong, 4th of 14, 2l behind Stoic Leader (9-1) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Height of Spirits 14-1 (8-11) Led after 2f, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon weakened, 7th of 9, 13l behind Port 'n Starboard (9-2) at Lingfield 1m 2f mdn stk (5) pol.
Duncanbil (IRE) 25-1 (8-9) Chased winner until over 6f out, remained prominent, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 12, 8l behind Tanning (8-0) at Lingfield 1m 2f mdn clm (7) pol in Dec.
House Martin 33-1 (9-1) Tracked leader, led over 3f out, headed over 1f out, faded, 8th of 13, 8l behind Connotation (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 1f fll hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Mary Anastatia (USA) 25-1 (9-0) Held up, kept on from 2f out, 10th of 19, 8l behind Burren Rose (9-0) at Naas 1m fll mdn gd in May.
Melee 20-1 (8-9) Tracked leaders, driven 4f out, weakened 2f out, last of 4, 10l behind Pillars of Wisdom (9-0) at Brighton 1m mdn stk (5) frm in Aug.
Rowan Warning 22-1 (8-13) Held up, ridden, headway over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, 4th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Kindlelight Debut (8-12) at W'hampton 7f app hcp (6) std.
