dwelt, soon close up, tracked leader 8f out until 2f out, weakened final furlong
led, ridden and headed 2f out, kept on one pace and lost 2nd post
in touch in rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression
in touch in rear, ridden over 3f out, ran on inside final furlong to go 2nd post, not reach winner
in touch, headway to lead 2f out, ridden and ran on, readily
tracked leader until 8f out, close up, ridden over 2f out, kept on, one pace
Naheell is an obvious contender under a mandatory penalty gained for winning at Wolverhampton from out of the weights, but whether he can build on that remains to be seen as he's not the most consistent and went off the boil after winning this time last year. Preference then is for DANVILLA, a strong galloping filly who will have no trouble with the extra furlong having won nicely over a mile and a half at Kempton. Like Naheell, she carries a fixed penalty, but unlike that rival she's unexposed having had just five starts and is taken to build on that success under Ian Burns. Soundbyte needs to produce his best to give the weight away here so more of a threat is Sheila's Castle, whose sole success came here, as she arrives on the back of a string of solid efforts.
Soundbyte 11-2 (9-10) Mid-division, headway over 1f out, soon chasing leaders, stayed on final furlong, never nearer, 3rd of 14, 2 1/4l behind Sovento (9-3) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp (0-65) (6) pol in Oct.
Sheila's Castle 12-1 (8-4) Mid-division, headway on inside over 2f out, led narrowly over 1f out, hard dtriven final furlong, no extra and headed close home, 2nd of 13, nk behind Saborido (8-13) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jul.
Leyte Gulf (USA) 7-2fav (9-12) Slowly away, held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, not much room inside final furlong and switched left, soon not much room again, kept on, 5th of 13, 5l behind Prickles (8-12) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Danvilla 11-1 (9-4) In touch on outer, led over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon under pressure, held on well towards finish, won at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Larkrise Star (9-3) by 2 3/4l, 14 ran.
Naheell 40-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders, led well over 1f out, soon clear and edged left, easily, won at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) pol beating Trachonitis (9-8) by 3l, 11 ran.
Suhailah 100-1 (9-2) Prominent, ridden over 4f out, not clear run over 2f out, stayed on same pace from over 1f out, 5th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Penangdouble O One (9-3) at Kempton 1m 4f mdn auc stks (5) pol in Oct.