held up in rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, unable to quicken inside final furlong
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon weakened
chased leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, driven and edged right inside final furlong, stayed on
taken to post early, pulled hard in rear, headway to chase leaders after 3f, effort 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up mid-division, effort 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong
held up, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out
always in rear, pushed along halfway, weakened 2f out
taken to post early, towards rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, effort when not clear run, snatched up entering final furlong, not recover
held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, headway under pressure approaching final furlong, stayed on to go 2nd inside final furlong
taken to post early, prominent, ridden and every chance over 1f out, no extra towards finish
prominent, ridden and every chance from over 1f out, held when short of room just inside final furlong, not recover
AMBER QUEEN can get her head in front in this competitive handicap; the list of dangers is headed by Hurricane Harriet and Carleton. The selection will handle the cut in the ground and she ran another sound race when she finished fifth behind Izzibizzi at Newbury last time. She is open to further improvement and she looks sure to make a bold bid to land this event. Hurricane Harriet has been in really good form of late winning three of her last four races. However, this step-up in trip is unlikely to suit her as she was bitterly disappointing on her only previous try over 7f and on that basis we will take her on. Carleton missed the break last time so he can be forgiven that slightly below-par effort; there is also a worry about the trip for him as he has to prove that he sees out this distance. Idle Power has course and distance winning form and Jim Boyle's 10-year-old is another who could go well at a price as he also has ground conditions to suit. This looks quite open, and the vote is given to Amber Queen.
Carleton 12-1 (9-1) Dwelt and behing, ridden over 2f out, never troubled leaders, 8th of 11, 9l behind Quest For Success (8-9) at Doncaster 7f 3yo app hcp (4) gd in Oct.
Idle Power (IRE) 9-1 (8-7) Made most on rail to over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 10, 2l behind Phantom Whisper (9-2) at Goodwood 6f hcp (3) gs in Oct.
Amber Queen (IRE) 8-1 (8-6) Tracked leader on outside, ridden to lead narrowly just inside final furlong, no extra when headed final 75 yards, 5th of 17, 1 1/2l behind Izzibizzi (8-4) at Newbury 7f fll hcp (3) sft in Oct.
Purus (IRE) 8-1 (8-12) Took keen hold, chased leaders, running on when hampered twice on rail inside final furlong, not recover, 6th of 13, 2 1/2l behind Countdown (9-6) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Oct.
Twilight Star (IRE) 20-1 (9-0) Always in rear group, never a factor, 11th of 13, 9l behind Noble Citizen (9-2) at Kempton 7f hcp (5) pol in Oct.
Russian Reel 16-1 (9-0) Close up, led 1f out, headed and not pace of winner inside final furlong, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Louphole (8-8) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Polmaily 15-8 (9-3) Held up, headway over 3f out, chased winner over 1f out, not quicken inside final furlong, 2nd of 7, 2l behind Manhattan Dream (8-12) at Warwick 7f mdn stk (5) gf in Jun.
Cornus 10-1 (9-5) Chased leaders far side group, led that group over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 8th of 17, 5l behind Lap of Honour (8-13) at Newcastle 6f hcp 0-75 (5) hvy in Oct.
Bahiano (IRE) 20-1 (9-6) Mid-division, driven throughout, hampered inside final furlong, 12th of 14, 6l behind Without Prejudice (9-3) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Hurricane Harriet 11-2 (9-2) Always prominent, led over 1f out, ridden out, won at Leicester 6f fll hcp (5) sft in Oct beating Diminuto (8-3) by 1 1/2l, 13 ran.
Shindy (FR) 9-1 (9-2) In touch, weakened over 1f out, 12th of 13, 20l behind St Trinians (9-8) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
