chased leaders on inside, angled out turning in, ridden to lead inside final furlong, headed final 100 yards, no extra and lost two places towards finish
soon steadied mid-division, good headway out wide over 1f out, strong run inside final furlong, soon every chance, went 2nd towards finish, just held
held up in mid-division on inside, headway turning in, ridden over 1f out, not clearest of runs inside final furlong, kept on but never going pace to get involved
steadied start, raced keenly in last pair, good headway out wide inside final furlong, finished well, just held
slowly into stride, held up in rear, good headway between horses inside final furlong, soon not clear and switched left, led final 100 yards, bit in hand
led for 2f, chased leader, led again 2f out, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, weakened soon after
early to post, pulled hard tracking leaders, ridden and weakened over 1f out
never closer than mid-division
awkwardly away, raced keenly and soon chasing leaders, led 5f out, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened quickly
Thapa VC won at Southwell last week while Arctician finished runner-up here when returning to today’s trip. But DAYMAN has slipped back down the handicap with a recent close-up third at Kempton pointing to a bold bid in this lower grade and he gets the vote in a tight contest. Fly The Nest was in winning form on the all-weather early in the year and has recent comeback run under his belt while both Abbey's Dream and Chola Empire are preferred to Starsong.
Arctician (IRE) 5-1 (9-9) Raced wide towards rear, ridden and headway entering final furlong, stayed on to go 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 10, 1l behind See You Boy (9-9) at Lingfield 7f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Desert Doctor (IRE) 17-2 (11-2) Raced wide close up, pushed along and weakened 2f out, 8th of 10, 8 1/2l behind Trabajo Detecho (10-7) at Newcastle 6f hcp (4) pol in Nov.
Chola Empire 7-1 (9-8) Held up, pushed along and headway on outer 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 8th of 13, 3 1/2l behind Billy Mill (9-8) at Newcastle 7f hcp (4) pol in Aug.
Dayman (GER) 33-1 (9-3) In rear, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, ran on, nearest finish, 3rd of 11, 3/4l behind McLean House (9-8) at Kempton 7f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Thapa VC (IRE) 7-2fav (9-8) Towards rear, headway over 1f out, switched left and lead approaching final furlong, ran on, won at Southwell 7f hcp (5) pol in Dec beating No Saint (9-6) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Abbey's Dream 15-2 (9-7) Restless in stalls, prominent, led over 2f out, headed over 1f out, no extra well inside final furlong, 5th of 12, 2 1/2l behind Kalganov (9-9) at Newcastle 7f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Starsong (IRE) 7-2 (9-10) Chased leaders, switched right 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, never dangerous, 5th of 9, 2 1/2l behind Daytona Lady (9-8) at Chelmsford City 6f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Fly The Nest (IRE) 33-1 (9-13) Midfield, outpaced from 2f out, soon lost position, ridden when dropped towards rear before 1f out, soon weakened, 11th of 12, 8l behind So Chic (9-3) at Lingfield 7f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
A Pint Of Bear (IRE) 28-1 (9-5) Off the pace and always towards rear, 8th of 9, 6 1/4l behind Ultramarine (9-9) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp (5) pol in Dec.