close up, chased leader 4f out, led 3f out, headed inside final furlong
in rear, ridden 3f out, some late headway
in rear, headway 4f out, ridden to chase leader 2f out, led inside final furlong, ran on
led 1f, chased leader, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace
led after 1f, clear 8f out, headed over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
in rear, pushed along 3f out, some late headway
raced wide in touch, weakened 3f out
tracked leaders, weakened 3f out
Simon Walker has ridden the winner in three of the last six renewals and has leading claims once again partnering ICE PYRAMID. The latter romped home by five lengths at Newcastle on last week’s handicap bow and a 5lb penalty may not be enough to anchor him in this. Contingency Fee can figure back over this shorter trip while By Rail gets a change of headgear on his return to the Flat and is preferred to Dutch Uncle but the remainder arrive out of form and are harder to recommend.
Ice Pyramid (IRE) 9-2 (9-12) Tracked leaders, led over 2f out, soon clear, won at Newcastle 1m 4f hcp (5) pol in Jan beating Trinity Star (9-5) by 5l, 11 ran.
Conkering Hero (IRE) 33-1 (10-0) Tracked leaders, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 11, 18 1/2l behind Mouriyani (9-5) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp (5) pol in Jan.
Dutch Uncle 20-1 (10-9) Soon led, headed over 3f out, soon weakened, 15th of 19, dist behind Gamesters Icon (10-4) at Doncaster 1m 2f hcp (5) hvy in Oct.
Contingency Fee 25-1 (9-9) Prominent on outside, ridden over 2f out, weakened from over 1f out, 8th of 9, 13 3/4l behind Affluence (9-13) at Chelmsford City 2m hcp (5) pol in Jan.
By Rail 16-1 (11-7) Chased leaders, lost place 4th, tailed off 6th, pulled up in back straight, at Warwick 2m hcp (5) sft in Dec.
Ice Galley (IRE) 33-1 (11-7) Mid-division, weakened after 4 out, pulled up before 2 out, at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp (4) gs in Dec.
Letsbe Avenue (IRE) 20-1 (10-12) Mid-division, ridden and outpaced after 3 out, 8th of 9, dist behind Neff (11-5) at Fontwell 2m 2f (4) hvy in Dec.
Hemingway (IRE) 33-1 (11-2) Prominent, lost place before 3 out, tailed off, last of 12, dist behind Zamperini (11-2) at Plumpton 2m mdn (4) gd in May.
Sleepdancer (IRE) 25-1 (8-4) Led until pushed along and headed over 6f out, lost 2nd over 5f out, ridden and weakened soon after, tailed off, last of 8, dist behind Sea Of Mystery (9-10) at Southwell 2m hcp (6) pol in Dec.