dwelt in touch in rear, ridden 5f out, no impression
chased clear winner until over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
close up on inner, ridden halfway, kept on one pace from over 1f out
chased leaders, ridden to chase winner over 2f out, challenged over 1f out, no impression inside final furlong
in touch in rear, ridden halfway, no impression
made most, clear over 4f out, reduced lead over 1f out, ridden and edged right final furlong, stayed on
All of these have won on the Fibresand at some point though Opus Dei and Bandstand were both successful over shorter trips. Ace Master has yet to win off mark as high as today's while Copperwood and Piceno have posted their best recent efforts over the longer trip of a mile. That leaves HELLBENDER, a runner-up to Rio Cobolo over track and trip three weeks ago and looking capable of going one better with Michael Murphy's 5lb allowance giving him an edge today's contest.
Bandstand 6-1 (8-11) Held up, ridden and headway over 1f out, no impression final furlong, 4th of 11, 5l behind Aubrietia (9-13) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Mar.
Piceno (IRE) 7-1 (8-13) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 10, 18l behind Gouray Girl (9-2) at Doncaster 7f hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Mar.
Copperwood 10-1 (8-12) Chased leaders, went 2nd over 2f out, led over 1f out, kept on and headed towards finish, 2nd of 8, shd behind Trois Vallees (9-6) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-80 (4) fbs in Mar.
Hellbender (IRE) 4-1 (9-1) Held up, ridden 3f out, headway under pressure over 1f out, driven and stayed on to go 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1l behind Rio Cobolo (8-9) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Mar.
Opus Dei 10-1 (9-1) Slowly away in rear, ridden over 2f out, kept on final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Kung Hei Fat Choy (9-7) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
Ace Master 13-2 (8-12) Tracked leader, led 3f out, headed over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on and held, 2nd of 9, 1 3/4l behind Elusive Hawk (9-2) at Southwell 6f hacp 0-70 (5) fbs in Mar.