held up in rear, headway far side of group over 2f out, went 2nd going well inside final 2f, ridden and every chance inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
pulled hard, tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened soon after, eased
made virtually all, ridden and pressed inside final furlong, ran on to assert towards finish
steadied start, held up in last pair and raced keenly, headway between horses over 1f out, 3rd and one pace towards finish
chased leading pair, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
restless in gates, chased winner, ridden 2f out, soon lost 2nd, weakened final furlong, eased
Dubai Acclaim won a lower grade contest over track and trip last time but the less-exposed Space Bandit is preferred having landed a maiden race at Southwell. Both Breaking Records and Trevithick went close on their penultimate starts, with the former stepping up in trip today, while Come On Tier slips further down the weights on only his second start since June. But MY TARGET (NAP) is also looking to exploit his current handicap mark and, having placed in tougher races than this here last year, Michael Wigham’s charge may well return to winning ways at this lower level.
My Target (IRE) 20-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, headway over 1f out, never on terms, 5th of 8, 3l behind Original Choice (9-12) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (2) pol in Dec.
Breaking Records (IRE) 7-1 (9-0) Held up in touch, ridden and headway entering final furlong, ran on close home, 3rd of 9, 3 1/4l behind Keyser Soze (9-3) at Lingfield 7f hcp (3) pol in Dec.
Trevithick 15-2 (9-5) Keen tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, hung right over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 8th of 12, 5 1/4l behind Big Kitten (9-5) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp (4) pol in Nov.
Come On Tier (FR) 8-1 (9-8) In rear, headway over 1f out, not clear run entering final furlong, switched left, kept on towards finish, 6th of 13, 3l behind Juanito Chico (9-2) at Kempton 1m hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Space Bandit 9-4 (9-5) Made all, pushd along and pressed over 1f out, ridden and ran on, won at Southwell 1m mdn stks (5) pol in Nov beating Mametz Wood (9-5) by 1 3/4l, 8 ran.
Dubai Acclaim (IRE) 7-1 (9-3) Tracked leader, ridden 2f out, led inside final furlong, all out, won at Newcastle 1m hcp (5) pol in Nov beating Testa Rossa (9-7) by nk, 14 ran.