steady start, in rear, short lived effort, on wide outside approaching 3f out
chased leader over 7f out until over 5f out, slightly outpaced over 2f out, driven and kept on final furlong
keen, held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, kept on, not pace to challenge
always in rear
keen, held up, headway 5f out, chased leader 3f out, ridden to lead 2f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
held up, headway to chase leader approaching 1f out, shaken up to lead and edged left inside final furlong
keen, held up, headway over 5f out, led 3f out until 2f out, soon weakened
close up, chased leader over 5f out until 3f out, ridden, stayed on final furlong
steady start, never near leaders
led 7f, ridden and kept on one pace
chased leader until over 7f out, lost touch from over 4f out
Several in with chances but we will narrow the shortlist down to three; Just Bond, Bay Boy and Magical Music, with the vote going to the last-named. Jeff Pearce's filly racked up a quickfire hat-trick last year, and wasn't beaten far by the improving Atlantic Story on his last run. Whilst Wolverhampton has been his stamping ground, he makes his Lingfield debut today and if handling the different conditions, he should be involved in the shake-up. He beat Just Bond off 81 on his penultimate start, and off a 3lb higher mark he gets the nod. Just Bond has a 1lb pull in the weights for that neck defeat so has very solid claims, as does Lisathedaddy who is ultra-consistent and has course and distance winning form. Prince Charlemagne is another course and distance winner so warrants respect, along with Solo Flight who is trying to roll back the years. This looks ultra-competitive, however we will return to Magical Music as our tentative selection.
Magical Music 10-1 (9-3) Soon prominent, ridden 2f out, one pace inside final furlong, 4th of 10, 2l behind Atlantic Story (8-2) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jan.
Solo Flight 20-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, effort on outer 2f out, never nearer, 4th of 7, 4 1/2l behind Mighty (8-11) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Le Corvee (IRE) 33-1 (9-3) Chased leader until 5f out, behind final 3f, last of 8, well behind Sgt Schultz (8-3) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Prince Charlemagne (IRE) 8-1 (9-0) Rearer start, headway 2f out, not much room briefly over 1f out, kept on, 4th of 8, 1 1/2l behind Wild Pitch (8-13) at W'hampton 1m 1f app hcp (4) pol.
Lisathedaddy 6-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, ridden to challenge and every chance over 1f out, no extra, 4th of 8, 2l behind Polish Power (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcap (4) pol in Dec.
Just Bond (IRE) 10-11fav (8-10) Started slowly, headway over 1f out, every chance inside last, no extra, 3rd of 8, 1l behind Wild Pitch (8-13) at W'hampton 1m 1f app hcp (4) pol.
Armada 10-1 (8-12) Led, headed over 2f out, soon lost place, weakened over 1f out, last of 10, 7l behind Atlantic Story (8-8) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Bay Boy 14-1 (8-7) Led, ridden 2f out, still every chance 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 3rd of 7, 4l behind Mighty (8-11) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
