held up in rear, ridden 2f out, never dangerous
held up mid-division on outer, headway well over 4f out, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
tracked leader until over 5f out, soon lost place
held up mid-division, headway on outer 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on towards finish
led, clear halfway, pushed along over 2f out, ridden 1f out, kept on and headed towards finish
tracked leaders in 3rd, went 2nd 6f out until over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
held up in touch in 4th, pushed along over 2f out, weakened 1f out
held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, ridden entering final furlong, kept on to lead towards finish
It's only seven months since RANSOM NOTE was running against Frankel and Excelebration in the Lockinge. He's won seven times on the Flat, including at Group 2 and Group 3 level, and the only question here is whether he'll stay the trip, a run over hurdles at Kempton in November having proved inconclusive as he didn't jump well. If the six-year-old lasts home, he will surely be far too good for these. Keep Kicking won at Kempton on Friday and Staigue Fort was just beaten here earlier this month but they will only be playing for places if the selection runs to his best and The Fonz appears to have lost a little of his enthusiasm lately, though was a decent handicapper on the Flat in his younger days. Shernando may be best of the rest as he was also a good handicapper on the level but he's disappointed over hurdles while winning hurdler Foster's Road wouldn't have lived with some of these on the Flat.
Jimmy The Brave 50-1 (11-4) Held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, never dangerous, 9th of 14, 8l behind Hollow Penny (11-4) at Lingfield 2m n h flat (4) std.
Keep Kicking (IRE) 9-1 (11-4) Held up towards finish, headway over 1f out, stayed on to lead towards finish, won at Kempton 2m n h flat (5) std beating Spanish Treasure (11-4) by 1/2l, 12 ran.
Master Cardor Visa (IRE) 9-1 (11-1) Held up mid-division, pushed along after 6th, outpaced before 8th, went 3rd before and blundered 2 out, kept on, 4th of 10, 7l behind Storm Alert (11-5) at Fontwell 2m 6f nov hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gs in Nov.
Ransom Note 2-1fav (10-12) Not jump well and slow at times, in touch, hit 3 out, soon weakened, 7th of 9, 38l behind Golden Hoof (10-12) at Kempton 2m nh nov hdl (4) gs in Nov.
Shernando 8-11fav (11-0) Took keen hold, held up in mid-division, smooth headway to track winner before 2 out, led narrowly before last, headed flat, no extra in 3rd final 100 yards, 3rd of 9, 2 3/4l behind Milansbar (10-9) at Folkestone 2m 6f mdn hdl (5) hvy in Dec.
Staigue Fort 20-1 (11-4) Chased leaders, led 1f out, hard ridden when pressed inside final furlong, kept on and caught post, 2nd of 14, shd behind Border Station (10-11) at Lingfield 2m n h flat (4) std.
The Fonz 6-1 (11-5) Took keen hold, chased leaders on inside, pushed along before 7th, not much room on inner 3 out, soon weakened, 9th of 10, 44l behind Cue To Cue (11-0) at Southwell 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Nov.
Foster's Road 40-1 (11-2) Held up in last pair, mistake 4th, hit 3 out, never involved, well behind when hit 2 out, tailed off, 6th of 8, 43l behind Far West (11-2) at Cheltenham 2m 3yo hdl (1) sft in Nov.
