ridden to lead, and soon clear, pushed along and not keen after 5th, ridden before 3 out, narrowly headed when bumped 2 out, one pace approaching last, kept on well flat, went 3rd last stride
held up in rear, smooth headway approaching 3 out, tracked leaders on inner after 3 out, led and went right 2 out, strongly pressed when hit last, drew clear flat
tracked leading pair, went 2nd 6th, every chance 2 out, weakened last, lost 3rd on line
chased clear leader to 4th, stayed prominent until weakened 6th, tailed off
chased clear leader 4th to 6th, pushed along approaching 3 out, effort on outside to challenge 2 out, every chance last, no extra and held flat
held up in 6th, headway and just about in touch when hit 3 out, still chasing leaders before next, weakened and hit last
never going well in rear, reminder 5th, driven and struggling 3 out, plugged on
in touch, ridden 5th, lost touch before next, tailed off
A poor contest where we will take a chance on SAMURAI WARRIOR to outbattle Gan Eagla and Little Firecracker. The selection is no more than tentative, having been dropped back from 2m 4f to this more suitable minimum trip this time. As a winner over 10f on fast ground on the flat, this sort of contest should be ideal for him and if he could transfer his flat race ability to the jumps then he might just nick it. Gan Eagla carries top weight and was a beaten favourite in a Worcester seller last time, resulting in a 5lb drop that presents him with his best chance for a long time, although when we will see his slide in the weights come to a halt is, in all honesty, guesswork. Little Firecracker won on good to soft at Uttoxeter in July but she has been found out from higher marks like today's since then and just looks in the grip of the assessor at present. White Moss also enjoys cut in the ground but Jim Best has managed to squeeze wins out of plenty worse than her during his relatively short career and we cannot totally dismiss an improvement. Desert Lover would have claims if able to reproduce his Huntingdon run from March, but we'll chance Samurai Warrior.
Gan Eagla (IRE) 7-2fav (10-9) Led until after 1st, chased leader, not fluent 3rd, led 6th until ridden, headed 3 out, weakened flat, just held on for 3rd, 3rd of 11, 18l behind Dabaratsa (10-5) at Worcester 2m 4f sell hdl (5) gs in Jul.
Jafaru 13-2 (11-2) Chased clear leader to after 3rd, handy until ridden and lost touch after 3 out, tailed off when hit next, 5th of 6, 36l behind Sweet World (10-12) at Newton Abbot 2m 1f nov hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Aug.
Hammer 25-1 (10-10) Mid-division, chased leaders halfway, weakened before 3 out, 11th of 16, 34l behind Deadline (11-7) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd.
Samurai Warrior 25-1 (10-9) Held up in rear, headway 4 out, kept on well, never nearer, 4th of 7, 23l behind Pilgrims Lane (10-11) at Fontwell 2m 4f clm hdl (5) gd.
Little Firecracker 7-2 (11-3) Tracked leaders, outpaced 2 out, went 3rd after last, no impression, 4th of 8, 19l behind Amjad (10-2) at Cartmel 2m 1f sell hcp hdl 0-90 (5) hvy in Aug.
Desert Lover (IRE) 16-1 (11-3) Mid-division, lost place 4th, behind when not fluent 9th, not fluent 3 out, tailed off, 11th of 12, 43l behind Joshua (10-8) at Huntingdon 2m hcp 0-100 (4) gf in Aug.
Felix Rex (GER) 50-1 (10-12) Settled in mid-division after 2nd, headway approaching 2 out, weakened approaching last, 7th of 14, 37l behind Hintsnallegations (11-5) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) gd.
Mr Rev 100-1 (10-7) Tracked leaders, raced keenly, chased winner after 2nd until 3 out, weakened approaching last, 5th of 11, 29l behind Calaficial (10-11) at Worcester 2m mdn hdl (4) gd.
White Moss (IRE) 14-1 (10-12) Held up, close order 5th, soon one pace, 4th of 12, 21l behind Charmaine Wood (11-7) at Towcester 2m mrs nov hdl (3yo+) (4) sft in Nov.
