held up, raced keenly, jumped slowly 3rd and 4th, lost touch approaching 3 out, clambered over last
led, jumped left 1st and 2nd, headed 3rd, hit 5th, outpaced after 3 out, rallied approaching 2 out, soon challenging, stayed on under pressure to lead towards finish
in touch, raced keenly ridden when not fluent 2 out, soon weakened
held up, in touch after 2nd, went 2nd 3 out, challenged 2 out until mistake last, weakened flat
tracked leader, led 3rd, hanging right from approaching 2 out, headed towards finish, no extra
prominent, raced keenly, went 2nd approaching 5th until 3 out, soon ridden, weakened approaching 2 out
held up in rear, raced keenly, tried to close approaching 2 out, no impression
An interesting juvenile contest where Gilded Age and ZARINSKI look the pair to concentrate on and we will side with the latter. The selection put together some decent flat form in Ireland when with John Oxx, and on his last start for that trainer he made the frame in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot. One run for Jim Best at Goodwood, when Nicky Henderson was without a licence, proved abortive, but he has now joined the master National Hunt handler and he is likely to be very well prepared for this. The yard's runners are hitting some form and if he can translate his flat ability to this sphere then he can score. Gilded Age looks the main danger. Rated around 10lbs inferior to the selection on the level, he looks likely to be well suited by this trip over timber, handles a sound surface well, and will also be well prepared by this top stable. If that duo run to their potential then the others should be fighting for minor money, but former Mark Johnston inmate Gulf Of Aqaba may be capable of improvement over hurdles now that he is trained by in-form David Pipe. He will relish conditions and can get involved. Space Telescope could be anything after just two runs on the level in Ireland, and the market should really be our best guide to the chences of Jonjo O'Neill's runner, while the others looks a moderate bunch, and Zarinski is preferred.
Bahkov (IRE) 6-1 (8-11) Chased leaders, ridden well over 1f out, no extra towards finish, 6th of 10, 2l behind Castano (9-1) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp (6) pol in Sep (flat).
Blazing Buck 11-2 (10-9) Chased leaders, lost place when not fluent 4th, mistake next, well behind when blundered 6th, tailed off when pulled up before last, in a race won by Dark Oasis (10-12) at Ludlow 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Oct, 13 ran.
Gilded Age 14-1 (8-8) Chased leading pair, pushed along 3f out, driven along over 1f out, weakened, 4th of 6, 6l behind Fanditha (8-12) at Goodwood 1m 3f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Sep (flat).
Space Telescope (IRE) 7-2 (9-4) Raced 3rd early, 2nd approaching halfway, pushed along in 3rd 1 1/2f out, ridden over 1f out, no impression leaders and kept on same pace, 3rd of 4, 3 1/2l behind Rockhampton (9-0) at Dundalk 1m 4f 3yo stks pol in May (flat).
Zarinski (IRE) 9-1 (9-7) Mid-division, pushed along and struggling over 3f out, 13th of 15, 32l behind Eastern Aria (9-7) at Goodwood 1m 3f 3yo hcp 0-90 (3) gd in Aug (flat).
Ashes Summer (IRE) 9-1 (10-5) Held up, ridden and improved to 3rd 3f out, weakened 2f out, 3rd of 7, 9l behind Mohanad (10-12) at Kempton 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gf in Oct.
Haling Park (UAE) 12-1 (8-5) Close-up, stayed alone towards centre in straight, well on terms until hung left, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 14, 10l behind Ocean Countess (9-2) at Brighton 1m 3yo hcp 0-60 (6) gd in Oct (flat).
Gulf Of Aqaba (USA) 11-1 (8-11) Held up in touch, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace from over 1f out, 4th of 8, 9l behind Honimiere (9-7) at Beverley 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Jul (flat).
