prominent, short of room, hampered on inner 2f out, not recover
always behind, no impression final 2f
held up, mid-division, ridden 2f out, stayed on well final furlong, not reach leaders
in rear, ridden, wide into straight, well over 1f out, stayed on under pressure, not trouble leaders
tracked leaders, led to over 2f out, headed, no extra inside final furlong
held up mid division, headway over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, driven out
prominent, effort well over 1f out, weakened quickly inside final furlong
towards rear, headway over 1f out, stayed on final furlong to take 2nd near finish
led until headed over 2f out, weakened quickly
in rear, not clear run 2f out, ran on well when clear inside final furlong, nearest finish
held up behind, ridden, out paced over 2f out, soon in rear, well behind
tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, no impression over 1f out, soon weakened
Another very hard race to assess, but we give a strong chance to Hard To Catch, Ever Cheerful and Joy And Pain look the best alternatives. Dean Ivory's gelding is proving hard to win with, but has put in some very good efforts in defeat. Most notably an excellent second behind Spindor over the seven furlong trip. The drop in distance will not be a problem and a big run is expected. Joy And Pain looks to have the best recent course and distance form having chased home General Feeling recently. He should go well despite top-weight. The best of the rest could be Ever Cheerful who makes a quick return to the track having chased home After The Show on Saturday. all in all a very competitive finale, but Hard To Catch deserves another victory and gets our vote.
Joy And Pain 6-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, effort going well over 1f out, soon ridden and not quicken, ran on to take 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 9, 1 1/2l behind General Feeling (9-2) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Nov.
Endless Summer 12-1 (9-9) Held up, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, never dangerous, 7th of 13, 6l behind Mystic Man (9-3) at W'hampton 6f clm (6) pol.
Seneschal 14-1 (9-1) Chased leaders until weakened over 1f out, 6th of 12, 6l behind General Feeling (9-3) at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Ever Cheerful 4-1jt-fav (9-2) Mid-division, headway approaching final furlong, ran on to have every chance inside final furlong, 2nd of 10, shd behind After The Show (9-4) at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Hard To Catch (IRE) 14-1 (8-8) Held up and behind, headway over 1f out, ran on, 3rd of 13, 4l behind Bessemer (8-11) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Ivory Lace 14-1 (9-4) Behind, plenty to do 2f out, good headway over 1f out, ran on strongly final furlong to take 2nd near finish, 2nd of 14, 1 1/2l behind Vienna's Boy (9-3) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Oct.
Arnie de Burgh 20-1 (8-7) Chased leaders over 3f, 10th of 13, 6l behind Bessemer (8-11) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Lady Algarhoud (FR) 13-2 (8-12) Always prominent, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 13, 4l behind Bessemer (8-11) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
