towards rear, soon driven along, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on towards finish
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, one pace final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon beaten
led, headed after 1f and remained in touch, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up, headway over 2f out, ridden and one pace final furlong
close up and led after 1f, ridden and edged left over 1f out, ran on final furlong
mid-division, effort over 2f out, no impression
prominent, driven halfway, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
in touch, hampered after 100 metres, held up mid-division, effort over 2f out, soon beaten
towards rear, never dangerous
prominent, pushed along halfway, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
never better than mid-division
towards rear, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
Kennington, Owed and, possibly, Cerebus, form the shortlist here, with the vote going to Kennington. Kennington and Owed come into this race in very good form and as recent winners. They are also both course and distance winners and look set to go well here today, with our preference being for the former. Lady Algarhoud is actually weighted to beat Owed based on their Wolverhampton meeting in July, but recent efforts have not been so food, while other course and distance winners, Attorney, Cool Sands and Cerebus have proven on numerous occasions that they can be competitive at this type of level. Of the others, Ruman showed some improvement last time and can't be ruled out of a good show but, for the selection, we will stick with Kennington.
Lincolneurocruiser 20-1 (8-6) Prominent stand's side, led group over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 5th of 20, 5l behind Wigwam Willie (8-8) at Doncaster 7f 3yo app hcp (4) hvy in Oct.
Kennington 6-1 (8-12) Chased leaders, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec beating Joyeaux (8-11) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Cerebus 13-2 (8-13) Always prominent, ridden and every chance over 1f out, kept on, 2nd of 14, 3/4l behind Middle Eastern (9-3) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Dec.
Cool Sands (IRE) 11-2 (8-9) Edged left over 4f out, ridden over 3f out, never troubled leaders, 8th of 12, 14l behind Local Poet (9-0) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Dec.
Owed 13-8fav (9-4) Held up behind leaders, ridden to lead 2f out, kept on final furlong, won at Southwell 7f sll (6) fbs in Dec beating Lady Suesanne (8-10) by 1 1/2l, 8 ran.
Second Reef 16-1 (8-10) Led, headed and no extra inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Paso Doble (8-4) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Dec.
Attorney 12-1 (8-12) Held up in touch, not much room and lost place over 3f out, no danger after, 8th of 13, 6l behind Bessemer (8-11) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec.
Ruman (IRE) 18-1 (9-1) Behind, headway over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 5th of 13, 4l behind Paso Doble (8-10) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Nov.