held up in rear, headway when switched right over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, nearest finish
held up in rear, headway on inside well over 1f out, led entering final furlong, edged right under pressure, headed and no extra last strides
dwelt, held up towards rear, headway well over 1f out, soon squeezed through to challenge, kept on well
tracked leader, driven to lead well over 1f out, headed entering final furlong, weakened close home
led, headed well over 1f out, rallying when not much room entering final furlong, no danger after
raced in rear, never a factor
chased leaders, under pressure well over 2f out, soon lost place
chased leaders, ridden to challenge over 1f out, ran on to lead close home
always behind, under pressure over 2f out, never dangerous
mid-division, ridden halfway, soon beaten
pushed along towards rear, weakened halfway, tailed off
This is much more competitive than last year's renewal and a host can be given chances. Our shortlist concerns Caprio, Everymanforhimself, Fishforcompliments and SAMARINDA with the last-named preferred. Pam Sly has her string in decent order and her charge is a real all-weather specialist. Seven furlongs is very much his minimum but with plenty of pace on a late rattle can land him the prize on the back of a solid run in a reasonable Kempton handicap. Caprio flew home for a good third at Wolverhampton but hasn't quite produced his best here in the past while Fishforcompliments has proved hard to win with lately and has a little to prove on the surface too. In contast Everymanforhimself's last victory came over course-and-distance and he's perhaps the biggest threat to Samarinda although Harlech Castle and Fault help to make this a competitve event for the grade.
Caprio (IRE) 28-1 (9-2) Behind, outpaced 2f out, headway on outside over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong to go 3rd post, nearest finish, 3rd of 10, 1l behind Regeneration (9-1) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Sep.
Everymanforhimself (IRE) 16-1 (9-5) Mid-division, edged right 3f out, headway well over 1f out, no impression inside final furlong, 6th of 20, 7l behind Perfect Silence (8-11) at Doncaster 7f app hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
Fishforcompliments 16-1 (9-6) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, soon lost place, 17th of 20, 25l behind Perfect Silence (8-11) at Doncaster 7f app hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
Harlech Castle 66-1 (9-1) Dwelt and always in rear, last of 12, 11l behind Sutton Veny (8-10) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-95 (3) pol.
Samarinda (USA) 22-1 (9-4) Led, ridden and headed inside final furlong, soon weakened, 5th of 13, 4 1/2l behind Primaeval (9-7) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Oct.
Fault 12-1 (8-12) In rear, headway on inside 2f out, pressed winner 1f out, ridden and unable to quicken near finish, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind Salerosa (9-7) at Southwell 7f clm stks (6) fbs.
Hand Painted 9-2 (9-4) Held up mid-division, outpaced over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on well closing stages, 6th of 13, 5l behind Merchant Of Medici (9-5) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Lend A Grand (IRE) 15-2 (9-5) Slowly away, soon mid-division, effort over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 12, 18l behind Al Aqabah (8-13) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Oct.
Straight And Level (CAN) 6-1 (8-12) Tracked leader after 2f, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 12, 7l behind Sir Ike (9-0) at Lingfield 1m hcp (6) pol.
Timeteam (IRE) 16-1 (9-4) Dwelt, held up towards rear, headway on inside 2f out, ridden to chase leaders over 1f out, not much room on rail and weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 13, 5l behind Viking Spirit (9-2) at Brighton 6f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in Oct.
Northern Champ (IRE) 80-1 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 7th of 9, 13l behind Yensi (8-9) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f mdn auc stks (6) pol.
Edgeworth (IRE) 12-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, tracked leader inside final 4f, led over 2f out, headed 2f out, soon weakened, 13th of 15, 12l behind Goodlukin Lucy (9-2) at Leicester 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Oct.
So Surreal (IRE) 10-1 (9-0) Always towards rear, pushed along and struggling 3f out, last of 12, 13l behind Kilburn (9-5) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Oct.
Goodbye Cash (IRE) 28-1 (8-13) Awkward start and steadied in rear, never a factor, 11th of 12, 6l behind Wooden King (9-5) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.