tracked leader, led 5th, drew clear from 2 out
tracked leaders, pushed along 4th, outpaced, took remote 4th after last
held up, headway to chase leaders after 3 out, weakened from next
held up in rear, headway to chase winner after 3 out, no impression
led, headed approaching 2nd, chased leader, ridden 3 out, weakened from next
in touch, lost place after 3rd, struggling when mistake 4th, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
took keen hold, soon tracking leader, raced wide, led approaching 2nd, headed 5th, soon weakened, tailed off
AACHEN is the selection with Maidstone Mixture and Super Directa the others to note in the market. Aachen currently holds engagements at Cheltenham and Punchestown so put simply, he needs to win this in order to justify any of those ambitions. He comfortably accounted for Big Eared Fran at Taunton and should be capable of defying his winners' penalty. Maidstone Mixture is the benchmark that the assessor will use for the purposes of evaluation. Super Directa was a winner over 1m4f when trained in Germany. It would be no surprise to see him improve upon a modest debut at Doncaster. Spume and Bright Falcon have been disappointing on the flat so try the winter game. Cherokee Star continues in blinkers but was well beaten last time out at Doncaster. Welcome Cat was a moderate flat performer while Nowzdetime has a double declaration. Aachen should win this en route to better things.
Aachen 10-3 (11-3) Prominent, led approaching 2 outl, shaken up approaching last, quicken clear, easily, won at Taunton 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) hvy beating Big Eared Fran (11-0) by 6l, 11 ran.
Maidstone Mixture (FR) 66-1 (10-5) Held up in last pair, last and struggling 7th, lost touch before 3 out, tailed off, last of 5, well behind Lough Derg (11-12) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hdl (2) gs in Jan.
Spume (IRE) 15-2 (11-0) Mid-division, headway 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 13, 7l behind March Mate (10-10) at W'hampton 1m 1f amt hcp (6) pol (Flat).
Super Directa (GER) 25-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened, 8th of 18, 41l behind Fushe Jo (10-12) at Doncaster 2m nov hdl (4) sft in Jan.
Cherokee Star 25-1 (11-1) Led, ridden after 5th, headed approaching 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off, 5th of 10, well behind Silk Drum (11-8) at Doncaster 2m 4yo nov hdl (3) sft in Jan.
Bright Falcon 25-1 (10-12) Led, clear until wandered, hit 4 out, headed next, soon weakened, tailed off, 5th of 6, well behind Rory Boy (10-12) at Perth 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gf in Jul.
Nowzdetime (IRE) 8-1 (9-3) Led, ridden over 3f out, driven and headed over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 10, 3 1/2l behind Red Expresso (9-3) at Southwell 1m 3f mdn aut stk (6) fbs in Dec (Flat).
Welcome Cat (USA) 28-1 (10-2) Raced wide, held up, ridden 4f out, never troubled leaders, 8th of 13, 25l behind Sabancaya (10-7) at Southwell 1m 6f amt hcp (6) fbs in Jan (Flat).
