in touch, ridden along 3f out, soon beaten
held up in rear, smooth headway 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
took keen hold, soon led, headed over 2f out, remained in touch, every chance entering final furlong, kept on (finished 2nd, awarded race)
held up behind leaders, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
Webbow gets the nod here, as long as his 309 day lay off hasn't left him a little rusty, but none of the five can really be ruled out, with First Buddy and Just Bond also worthy of consideration. Webbow is Mr Consistent; he's run well at different times of the year and on different surfaces, and goes chasing a hat-trick of wins. He's well in at the weights too. First Buddy, a son of Rock of Gibraltar may prefer it with a bit of cut in the ground; he's drawn wide of the 5, but the advantage in a small field could be minimal. Just Bond is usually involved come the business end of his races, many of which have been on all weather tracks, although it's more than 6 months since he won a race. It looks pretty competitive, but the pick is Webbow.
Scartozz 14-1 (9-1) Led, headed 2f out, soon ridden, weakened at final furlong, 6th of 14, 7l behind Extraterrestrial (8-5) at Thirsk 1m hcp 0-100 (2) gd in May.
First Buddy 8-1 (9-4) In touch, ridden along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 13, 7l behind Capable Guest (8-12) at Redcar 1m 2f hcp 0-105 (2) gf in May.
Webbow (IRE) 5-1 (8-13) Held up towards rear, headway 2f out, driven and ran on to lead inside final furlong, kept on, won at Doncaster 1m hcp 0-95 (3) gf in Aug beating Ekhtiaar (9-1) by a nk, 19 ran.
Billy Dane (IRE) 10-1 (9-9) Led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, stayed on same pace, 4th of 16, 4 1/2l behind Goodbye Mr Bond (9-9) at York 1m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gf.
Just Bond (IRE) 25-1 (8-9) Steadied start, held up towards rear, headway 3f out, every chance approaching final furlong, edged right and kept on same pace, 2nd of 16, 1 1/2l behind Goodbye Mr Bond (9-9) at York 1m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gf.