held up in rear, some headway when not clear run briefly inside final 2f
held up in rear, headway under pressure under 1f out, stayed on but never troubled leaders
held up in touch, headway 3f out, ridden to lead 2f out, ran on well
took keen hold, held up in mid-division, headway and hung right from 2f out, went 2nd inside final furlong, no impression
prominent on outside, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
held up and behind, ridden 3f out, soon beaten
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, stayed on same pace
pushed along in rear 3f out, headway over 1f out, driven and stayed on under pressure inside final furlong
held up in rear, headway over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, not trouble leaders
chased leaders, went 2nd 3f out until well over 1f out, weakened final furlong
chased leaders to 3f out, weakened rapidly
always behind
in touch on outside, ridden 2f out, chased winner well over 1f out, weakened final furlong
led, headed 2f out, soon hung right and weakened, eased final furlong
Damika gets the call here ahead of Capable Guest and Hazzard County. Much as Damika's seven-furlong course win last time came on soft going - and he also benfited from a good tactical ride from Ted Durcan - he looked to be improving at the right time of the year on that occasion and, as such, can go well from his revised mark. The third-placed Capable Guest is closely weighted with him based on that run and has to be given some thought too and, much as he finished ninth in the same contest, Prince Of Thebes is more than capable of going well in this type of event from his current rating. Very Wise will probably appreciate the drop in trip from the Cambridgeshire last time and, given that he has not been overfaced this season, gets respect. Kinsya also looked to be coming good when scoring at Leicester last time and further improvement is not ruled out. Finally, Zero Tolerance would hold very good claims based on his form of a year ago, although we have been saying that for his last few runs now, Hazzard County stormed home late in the day at Lingfield last time and, lightly raced, further improvement is not ruled out, and Rain Stops Play is well weighted now based on his course and distance win of around a year ago. For the selection, though, we will stick with Damika.
Damika (IRE) 50-1 (9-0) Towards rear, niggled along over 3f out, switched right and headway over 2f out, led just over 1f out, driven out, won at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct beating Vitznau (9-2) by 1/2l, 26 ran.
Chicken Soup 33-1 (9-0) Chased leaders, weakened well over 1f out, last of 20, 26l behind Fonthill Road (8-12) at York 6f hcp 0-105 (2) gs in Oct.
Very Wise 33-1 (8-9) Tracked leaders, pushed along over 3f out, weakened approaching 2f out, 22nd of 34, 17l behind Pipedreamer (8-12) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcap (2) gf in Oct.
Kinsya 7-2jt-fav (9-6) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, led inside final furlong, edged right towards finish, ran on, won at Leicester 1m hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Oct beating Orpen Wide (9-6) by 2l, 10 ran.
South Cape 28-1 (9-3) Held up towards rear, pushed along when hampered halfway, not clear run well over 1f out, no headway, 19th of 26, 10l behind Damika (9-0) at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct.
Danehillsundance (IRE) 22-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride, held up, headway over 1f out, not clear run inside final furlong, never dangerous, 12th of 26, 6l behind Damika (9-0) at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct.
Bid For Glory 16-1 (9-0) Towards rear, ridden over 3f out, no impression from over 1f out, 10th of 15, 7l behind Amarna (8-10) at York 1m hcp 0-100 (2) gd in Oct.
Capable Guest (IRE) 25-1 (8-10) In rear, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, 3rd of 26, 1l behind Damika (9-0) at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct.
Blue Rocket (IRE) 33-1 (9-1) Chased leaders, ridden along halfway, soon weakened, 17th of 22, 9l behind Tamagin (8-10) at Doncaster 6f hcp 0-100 (2) gd in Oct.
Prince Of Thebes (IRE) 12-1 (8-6) Chased leaders, ridden when hampered over 1f out, kept on same pace inside final furlong, 9th of 26, 4l behind Damika (9-0) at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct.
Zero Tolerance (IRE) 7-1 (8-9) Tracked leader, ridden and every chance over 1f out, weakened, 6th of 10, 10l behind Night Crescendo (8-7) at Ascot 1m 2f hcp 0-105 (2) gs in Oct.
Hazzard County (USA) 16-1 (8-9) Took keen hold, held up in rear, headway over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Troubadour (8-13) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Oct.
Voliere 11-4fav (9-2) Held up in touch, tracked leaders over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, slightly short of room and one pace, 3rd of 11, 3l behind World Spirit (8-9) at Lingfield 1m fll hcp (4) pol in Oct.
Rain Stops Play (IRE) 14-1 (8-11) Soon led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 8th of 10, 8l behind Kinsya (9-6) at Leicester 1m hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Oct.
