held up in mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, challenged 1f out, kept on final furlong
mid-division, ridden and challenged over 1f out, not quicken final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden 3f out, weakened 1f out
slowly into stride, towards rear, ridden 3f out, weakened 1f out
held up towards rear, ridden and headway 3f out, every chance over 1f out, no extra final furlong
mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway and challenged over 1f out, kept on
prominent, headway and challenged 2f out, every chance over 1f out, weakened final furlong
slowly into stride and reminder start, towards rear, ridden over 2f out, switched left and ran on from 1f out, went 2nd final furlong, nearest finish
held up towards rear, ridden over 2f out, ran on well from over 1f out, led 1f out, hard ridden and ran on final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, drifted left and headed 1f out, eased final furlong
prominent, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out, behind
prominent, ridden 3f out, weakened final furlong
Nonrunner
The finale looks really hard to sort out, and only a very tentative vote goes to Ruse over the likes of Border Edge, Treasure House, Deeper In Debt and Cloud Atlas to name but a few. Plenty of these have chances of reaching the frame at least, but we look to a lightly-raced three-year-old in the shape of Ruse who gets weight all round. James Fanshawe's filly, a half-sister to nine winners no less, made an inauspicious start to her career at Southwell in November of last year, and has since run two fairly promising races on Turf at Nottingham and Redcar. She looks just the sort that could have been hiding her light under a bushel, and may have been let in lightly for this, her handicap bow. With Jamie Spencer on board, she looks very interesting and is the pick to small stakes. Border Edge has seen it all before, and showed that there is still a race or two to be had, with a fine close second at Epsom last time, while Treasure House remains well handicapped and has finished runner-up on each of his only two previous outings on this track. Deeper In Debt in contrast appears to be a shade high in the weights, and Cloud Atlas needs to improve on a Kempton Polytrack success, although he does handle soft ground. There are too many ifs and buts here, and we suggest that bets are kept to the bare minimum, with Ruse the pick.
Dr Thong 7-1 (10-0) Behind, effort inside final 2f, no extra and one pace final furlong, 5th of 10, 5l behind Cross The Line (9-8) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Jul.
Deeper In Debt 13-2 (8-12) Led until over 1f out, stayed prominent until weakened over 1f out, last of 7, 9l behind Lucayan Dancer (9-4) at Goodwood 1m 1f app hcp (3) gf.
Todlea (IRE) 15-2 (9-2) Tracked leaders, switched right over 2f out, led on bit over 1f out, comfortably, won at Chepstow 1m sll (6) gf beating Zafarshah (8-12) by 2 1/2l, 10 ran.
Parnassian 8-1 (9-7) Tracked leaders, pushed along and effort over 2f out, soon one pace, 5th of 14, 3l behind She's Our Lass (9-8) at Newmarket 1m hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Treasure House (IRE) 16-1 (9-11) Slowly into stride, soon tracking leaders, ridden over 2f out, one pace, 3rd of 10, 3 1/2l behind Bucharest (8-7) at Haydock 1m hcp 0-70 (5) gf.
Luckylover 20-1 (9-9) Tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon lost place and weakened 2f out, 9th of 11, 8l behind Captain Darling (9-6) at Kempton 1m app hcp (5) pol.
Cloud Atlas (IRE) 10-1 (9-3) Made virtually all, ridden over 1f out, outbattled runner up inside final furlong, won at Kempton 1m app hcp (5) pol beating Jomus (8-11) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Christmas Truce (IRE) 9-1 (9-1) Took keen hold in rear, ridden along over 2f out, no impression on leaders over 1f out, 7th of 10, 5l behind Royal Indulgence (8-11) at Newbury 1m 1f app hcp (5) gd.
Border Edge 14-1 (8-4) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, chased winner inside final furlong, kept on under pressure, 2nd of 10, nk behind Rain Stops Play (9-4) at Epsom 1m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gs.
Carloman 3-1 (8-12) Led, joined after 1f, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon eased, 7th of 8, 31l behind Press The Button (9-1) at Epsom 1m 1f 3yo hcp (4) gf.
Life's A Whirl 7-2 (9-7) Chased leader until over 2f out, held when hampered entering final furlong, 7th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Border Artist (9-2) at Yarmouth 7f hcp 0-70 (5) frm in Jul.
Wotchalike (IRE) 16-1 (8-8) Held up, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out, 6th of 9, 7l behind Surwaki (10-0) at Leicester 1m hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Logsdail 5-2fav (9-12) In touch, effort and headway on inside 2f out, hampered over 1f out, not recover, 9th of 10, 5l behind Taranaki (8-10) at Goodwood 7f hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Crail 6-1 (9-4) Held up, some headway over 1f out, never on terms, 6th of 14, 7l behind She's Our Lass (9-8) at Newmarket 1m hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Pleasing 5-1 (8-3) Chased leaders, pushed along over 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, 4th of 10, 2l behind Rakata (9-3) at Windsor 1m fll hcp (4) gd.
Ruse 11-2 (8-12) Held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, kept on final 2f, 4th of 11, 4l behind Shumookh (9-3) at Nottingham 1m mdn aut stk (6) gd.
