steadied start, held up in rear, pushed along 2f out, headway inside final furlong, nearest finish
keen close up, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace
towards rear, wide and headway 2f out, ridden and stayed on to go 2nd inside final furlong
slow into stride, wide and headway to track leader 10f out, pushed along 4f out, weakened 2f out
held up, pushed along 2f out, not trouble leaders
led 1f, led again approaching 2f out, soon ridden clear, eased inside final furlong
led after 1f, pushed along 3f out, ridden and headed approaching 2f out, weakened entering final furlong
in touch, pushed along 2f out, not trouble leaders
BEAT THE BREEZE does just enough to win and landed a hat-trick with a recent course and distance success. A further 4lb rise may not be enough to prevent Simon Dow’s charge from going in again. Aldrich Bay was sent off favourite on his handicap debut but found one too good. He’s preferred to Libbretta and Tanqeeb, who both step up in trip, while Amanto moves in the opposite direction having finished closer over 2m here last time. Double Legend has plenty to find with the selection and the rest are even harder to recommend.
Tanqeeb 11-2 (9-4) Towards rear, ridden 2f out, never on terms, 8th of 10, 5 3/4l behind Bayston Hill (9-8) at Chelmsford City 1m 2f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Amanto (GER) 25-1 (9-12) Towards rear, pushed along over 1f out, ridden and ran on inside final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 13, 2 3/4l behind Social City (9-10) at Lingfield 2m hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Libbretta 15-2 (9-6) Tracked leaders, ridden and unable to quicken over 1f out, kept on one pace, 4th of 9, 1 1/4l behind Elegant Love (9-9) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Bird To Love 25-1 (9-7) Mid-division, ridden along 3f out, plugged on one pace from 2f out, 7th of 13, 18 1/2l behind Kentucky Kingdom (9-2) at Chelmsford City 1m 2f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Wally's Wisdom 80-1 (9-10) Held up towards rear, ridden over 3f out, plugged on from over 1f out but never a factor, 7th of 12, 10 3/4l behind Feldspar (9-2) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Double Legend (IRE) 50-1 (9-5) In rear, ridden 2f out, not trouble leaders, 9th of 14, 4 1/4l behind Beat The Breeze (9-2) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Aldrich Bay (IRE) 2-1fav (9-4) Ridden away from stalls, mid-division and sometimes niggled along, headway over 2f out, chased winner just over 1f out, no impression, 2nd of 10, 3l behind Helix (9-2) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Bo Taifan (IRE) 100-1 (9-7) Held up in rear, ridden and lost touch over 4f out, plugged on past beaten horses over 1f out, 9th of 13, 25l behind Luscifer (9-3) at Southwell 1m hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Birkie Queen (IRE) 16-1 (8-7) Chased leaders, lost place after 1f, outpaced and no impression final 2f, 9th of 10, 13 1/2l behind Glencora (9-4) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Beat The Breeze 9-2fav (9-2) In touch, headway 3f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Dec beating Brancaster (9-10) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
