held up, pushed along after 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off
led, clear approaching 6th, headed approaching 2 out, lost 2nd last, no extra flat
tracked leader, hit 3rd, pushed along and in rear from 7th, tailed off 3 out, soon pulled up
held up in touch, mistake 7th, went 2nd when blundered last, ridden and kept on towards finish
held up in rear, ridden and weakened 2 out
held up towards rear, led approaching 2 out, driven out
tracked leaders, went 2nd 3 out, weakened next
Despite a 5lb drop in the weights Friendly King still looks high enough in the handicap for what he has achieved and preference is for PICAROON who drops in grade this afternoon. The selection was an impressive winner here 11 months ago and should be suited by the return to this trip today. He is probably a little high in the weights but his jockey's claim helps and with ideal conditions he should run a huge race. Steve Gollings goes well at the track and so course regular Springfield Raki looks an interesting contender, as does Chaim for whom the step back up in trip looks ideal. River Logic had to work hard to win at the track last time out but he escapes a penalty for that apprentice race win and it would be no surprise were he to feature prominently again. Final Veto only has a 3lb higher mark to work from after a Wetherby success 327 days ago, and at the age of six it would be a surprise were that to be the end of his progression. Chesapeak completes the field but this 11-race maiden must be opposed again following a lacklustre return to action at Aintree last month. An open heat, but Picaroon is given the nod.
Friendly King 33-1 (10-7) Held up in rear, ridden after 6th, struggling approaching 3 out, tailed off, 9th of 13, well behind Trenchant (11-9) at Kempton 2m 5f hcp hdl (2) gd.
Picaroon 6-1 (11-2) Pressed leader, mistake 4th, hit next, left in lead 6th, headed when not fluent 2 out, weakened approching last, 5th of 11, 27l behind Harry Tricker (11-5) at Sandown 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd.
Springfield Raki 11-8fav (11-2) With leader, pushed along and lost place after 4th, weakened from 6th, tailed off when pulled up after 3 out, in a race won by Mr Robert (10-9) at Market Rasen 2m 6f nh nov hdl (4) gd in Jun, 8 ran.
Chesapeake (IRE) 4-1 (11-7) Always towards rear, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Bob 'n' You (10-3) at Aintree 3m nov hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Oct, 11 ran.
Chaim (IRE) 9-2 (11-1) Held up, headway approaching 3 out, soon hampered, every chance last, no extra, 2nd of 15, 1 3/4l behind Quazy De Joie (10-7) at Towcester 2m NH nov hdl 4-6yo (3) gs in Dec.
River Logic (IRE) 20-1 (11-9) Held up towards rear, headway and in touch 3 out, challenged next, driven and stayed on to lead flat, held on, won at Market Rasen 2m 3f cond hcp hdl 0-1115 (4) hvy beating Baileys Benchmark (9-11) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
Final Veto 25-1 (10-0) Mid-division, mistake 7th, led approaching 3 out, held on gamely from last, won at Wetherby 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Dec beating Brave Rebellion (11-0) by 1 3/4l, 12 ran.
