led, driven and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, soon chasing leaders, stayed on well final furlong, not pace of winner
held up, never dangerous
held up mid-division, lost place over 4f out
tracked leader, led over 2f out, hard ridden over 1f out, stayed on strongly
slowly into stride, held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, chased leaders over 2f out, soon every chance, kept on same pace final furlong
chased leaders, lost place over 3f out
held up in touch, keen early, chased leaders well over 2f out, soon no impression
held up in touch, chased leaders over 4f out, gradually weakened
Nonrunner
This really is a very mediocre affair where the advice is to tread very carefully with your wager, but it wouldn't take the most vivid of imaginations to picture ALWAYS DIXIE being good enough to win it, while Sternian, Creevy and Hathaway are others we will assess. Mark Johnston is not normally associated with 54-rated maiden handicappers, but that is the mark alloted to the selection, after some moderate efforts so far. She has struggled from marks of 59 and 56 in handicap company, but both of those races were stronger than today's. There is no reason why she shouldn't act here, and with the first-time headgear viewed as a positive we will side with her. Sternian has had just three starts to date, after which the handicapper has assessed her ability is worth a mark of 50. We would expect to see much more from her than on her debut over course and distance and a much improved effort is anticipated. Creevy, on the other hand, has had plenty of chances so far and came closest to success when runner-up on turf at Warwick in September. She is hardly one to trust with the life savings, but she could make her presence felt in this lowly grade. Mark Brisbourne's Hathaway has shown some ability in maidens and minor handicaps and if she handles the Fibresand then she could give them all plenty to do. With a note that you would be well advised to check the market for clues before your punt, we'll suggest Always Dixie to score.
Alotago (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, chased leader over 5f out until 2f out, weakened quickly, 11th of 12, 22l behind Fine Lace (9-1) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 2yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Oct.
Always Dixie (IRE) 16-1 (9-1) Pressed leader, lost place 2f out, soon ridden and weakened, 8th of 10, 15l behind Rock A Doodle Doo (9-0) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan.
Little Meadow (IRE) 11-1 (8-13) Held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 4th of 8, 8l behind Wedding Dream (9-4) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Jan.
Hathaway (IRE) 10-1 (8-12) Dwelt, held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, no impression, 6th of 9, 8l behind Marosh (9-10) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan.
The Blue Dog (IRE) 40-1 (9-0) Raced wide, held up, ridden and struggling 3f out, 6th of 10, 19l behind If I Were A Boy (9-0) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 2yo mdn fll stks (5) pol in Dec.
Sternian 66-1 (8-5) Held up, wide from 3f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out, last of 8, 8l behind Beyond (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Jan.
Whip Up (IRE) 80-1 (8-6) Took keen hold, close up in 4th, pushed along 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 6, 6l behind Kathindi (8-6) at Kempton 1m 2f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Jan.
Creevy (IRE) 25-1 (8-4) Tracked leaders, tracked leader over 4f, until over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 11, 18l behind Bubbly Braveheart (9-4) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Penderyn 12-1 (8-2) Keen, held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 8, 9l behind Wedding Dream (9-4) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Jan.
Luminosa 100-1 (8-9) Led, headed over 3f out, soon weakened, 8th of 10, 28l behind Monterosso (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Jan.
