led, pushed along and pressed over 1f out, held on gamely
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened over 1f out
tracked leader, challenged over 1f out, soon every chance, kept on and held close home
held up in touch, kept on and no impression inside final furlong
behind, pushed along over 5f out, headway over 3f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden inside final furlong, kept on same pace
in rear, soon pushed along and struggling
slowly away, towards rear, ridden and weakened over 2f out
towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, soon weakened
AUSPICION (NAP), representing last year's winning yard, was a beaten favourite on his final start last year at Ascot. But that form still looks better than anything his rivals have posted so far and he should be able to dominate this from an inside draw. Cymro was consistent in his first season but is likely to find at least one too good again and a bigger danger maybe Big Red. Ed Dunlop's maidens usually need a run and the Dark Angel colt shaped nicely when fourth at Doncaster. Double Heaven has shown promise on the all-weather while Big Bear is a likely improver. Count Montecristo will be interesting when tackling handicaps.
Auspicion 6-5fav (9-5) Led, driven 2f out, headed 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 6th of 11, 5l behind Mutasayyid (9-5) at Ascot 7f 2yo mdn (4) gf in Sep.
Big Bear (FR) 50-1 (9-5) Slowly away and went left start, ran green in rear, effort near side and kept on inside final furlong, no threat, 8th of 11, 7l behind Punk Rocker (9-0) at Doncaster 6f 2yo mdn (5) gd in Jul.
Count Montecristo (FR) 7-1 (9-5) Raced keenly, chased leaders on inside, pushed along and every chance 2f out, ridden well over 1f out, soon weakened, 8th of 11, 10l behind Mutamakkin (9-5) at York 7f 2yo mdn (3) gs in Oct.
Cymro (IRE) 13-2 (9-7) Led, ridden 3 lengths clear 2f out, headed inside final furlong, eased when no chance with winner, 2nd of 13, 6l behind Dark Wave (9-3) at Pontefract 1m 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) sft in Oct.
Dark Red (IRE) 20-1 (9-5) Ran green, behind and soon outpaced, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, unable to reach leaders, 4th of 13, 6l behind Hail The Hero (9-5) at Doncaster 7f 3yo mdn (5) gd in Mar.
Double Heaven 2-1 (8-9) Chased leader until ran wide on bend inside final 2f, rallied under pressure into 2nd again last 75 yards, not pace of winner, 2nd of 9, 1l behind Pharmaceutical (8-9) at Lingfield 7f mdn stks (5) pol in Jan.
Leave It To Arno 20-1 (8-2) Dwelt, in touch, pushed along 2f out, kept on final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 7, 8l behind Sculptured (8-6) at Southwell 7f 3yo mdn auc stks (6) fbs.
Mighty Bond 66-1 (9-2) Very slowly away, always behind, last of 15, 49l behind Not Never (9-5) at Redcar 1m 1f 2yo mdn (5) gs in Oct.
Luvlylynnthomas 66-1 (8-11) Raced wide mid-division, weakened over 2f out, in a race won by Ocean Sheridan (9-0) at Pontefract 6f 2yo mdn aut (5) sft in Oct, 13 ran.