prominent, outpaced from 8th soon beaten
in touch, outpaced approaching 3 out, rallied approaching next, kept on from last
held up in touch, headway to go prominent 3 out, soon ridden, chased leader approaching last, stayed on to lead towards finish
held up, headway 8th, outpaced approaching 3 out, weakened approaching next
led, ridden and headed approaching 3 out, weakened last
mid-division, headway 9th, led approaching 3 out, hung left run-in, headed towards finish
towards rear, weakened from 8th
held up, pushed along halfway, soon weakened, pulled up after 4 out
prominent, not fluent 9th, weakened from next
always towards rear, mistake 7th, soon struggling, pulled up after 4 out
with leader, quickly lost place approaching 7th, pulled up before 9th
chased leaders, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened
The Whisperer gets the vote here with Em's Royalty and Cool Cossack likely to give him the most to think about. The selection was a fair third behind Flight Leader last time out and as this represents a drop in class and the form has since been franked he will be hard to beat. Em's Royalty rates the main danger as he won well last time out when beating Sea Laughter but this looks more competitive and he could be vulnerable under his penalty. Cool Cossack is unbeaten to date but he has a 608-day abscence to overcome and the worry is he may just need the run. Fastaffaran is another that could go well on his latest second behind Ballyvogue but consistency is not his strong point. Clemax ran well last time out but is very one-paced but he does have conditions to suit and could go well at a price but for the winner we return to The Whisperer.
Em's Royalty 40-1 (11-7) Chased leaders, led from 7th, stayed on well, won at Ayr 3m hcp hdl 0-95 (5) hvy beating Sea Laughter (11-6) by 13l, 20 ran.
The Whisperer (IRE) 13-2 (11-4) Held up, smooth headway to track leaders 9th, ridden after 2 out, weakened last, 3rd of 8, 26l behind Flight Leader (11-0) at Cheltenham 3m nov hdl Grd 2 (1) sft in Dec.
Allegedly So (IRE) 66-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, weakened approaching 4 out, jumped badly left last 2, 8th of 10, well behind Chief Dan George (11-5) at Ayr 2m 5f nov hdl (4) hvy in Dec.
Clemax (IRE) 3-1fav (11-4) In rear, headway approaching 7th, ridden to chase winner approaching 2 out, no impression, 2nd of 9, 8l behind Chickapeakray (11-9) at Haydock 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) hvy in Dec.
Cool Cossack (IRE) 13-2 (11-12) Prominent, ridden to lead approaching 2 out, just held on, won at Wetherby 3m 1f hcp chs 0-115 (D) gf in May '05 beating Ashnaya (11-8) by a hd, 7 ran.
Fastaffaran (IRE) 11-2 (10-9) Held up, headway 8th, went 2nd approaching 3 out, challenged next, every chance when not fluent last, hung left and one pace flat, 2nd of 11, 4l behind Ballyvoge (10-12) at Newcastle 3m mdn hdl (4) gs in Nov.
Northern Vic (IRE) 100-1 (10-9) Always towards rear, 7th of 14, well behind Air Force One (10-12) at Leicester 2m 4f nov hdl (3) sft in Dec.
Vecchio Senso (IRE) 4-1 (11-7) Led to 3rd, ridden and hit 3 out, no impression after, 4th of 12, well behind All For Luck (11-7) at Wetherby 2m 7f nh mdn hdl (5) hvy.
