in touch, ridden along 3f out, driven over 1f out, weakened final furlong
dwelt and towards rear, soon chased along, never dangerous
prominent, ridden over 2f out, edged left over 1f out, kept on final furlong
prominent, ridden over 2f out, effort when not much room and fell over 1f out
towards rear, ridden along halfway, headway on wide outside over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
towards rear and soon chased along, driven and headway over 1f out, one pace final furlong
held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, weakened final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, headed approaching final furlong, stayed on same pace
held up, ridden along and headway on inner over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up behind leaders, smooth progress over 1f out, quickened to lead approaching final furlong, ran on
SPECTAIT may be worth chancing in this tight handicap. Cool Sands is better than he showed last time whilst Resplendent Nova comes here on the back of a win. This will be Resplendent Nova's first outing on fibresand and there must be a chance that he will act on the surface given that he's by Pivotal. The revised mark is also within his scope but he can leave himself with too much to do sometimes and that could be his undoing. Cool Sands is a track specialist with winning form at this trip and he merits respect but he was most disappointing when last in action and it remains to be seen whether he can bounce back. Kabeer is on his last winning mark and won following a similar absence last year so is worth noting but preference is for Spectait following an eyecatching return to racing on the level. Things haven't gone according to plan over obstacles but he was a smart performer in this discipline earlier in his career and did enough at Lingfield to think that there are more races in him. He's certainly well in on his best form and Spectait should go well if handling the track.
Xpres Maite 16-1 (9-5) Soon led, ridden and headed over 1f, one pace final furlong, 4th of 11, 4l behind My Gacho (9-0) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Oct.
Kabeer 9-2 (8-11) Dwelt, behind, effort over 2fout, never reached challenging position, 5th of 6, 11l behind Masai Moon (8-13) at Southwell 7f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in May.
Councellor (FR) 16-1 (9-5) Prominent on outside, ridden 2f out, soon outpaced, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 12, 5l behind Mister New York (8-13) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Nastrelli (IRE) 6-1 (9-3) Held up mid-division, headway 2f out, driven over 1f and ran on final furlong, 2nd of 14, 3/4l behind Another Genepi (8-9) at Southwell 7f clm (6) fbs in Nov.
Resplendent Nova 16-1 (8-6) Held up last, good headway from 2f out, quickened to lead inside final furlong, ran on, driven out, won at Kempton 7f hcp 0-90 (3) pol in Nov beating Orpenindeed (8-9) by 1/2l, 12 ran.
Spectait 40-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, soon pushed along in rear, wide into straight 2f out, driven and stayed on to take 4th towards finish, 4th of 11, 4 1/2l behind My Gacho (9-5) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Imprimis Tagula (IRE) 18-1 (9-12) Prominent, led 6f out until driven and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 11, 8l behind Red Somerset (9-7) at W'hampton 1m 1f clm (6) pol.
King's Ransom 25-1 (9-0) Soon led, ridden over 2f out, hung right and headed 1f out, weakened, 9th of 12, 7l behind Princely Hero (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Nov.
Cool Sands (IRE) 3-1jt-fav (9-1) In rear, headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, never nearer, 4th of 13, 7l behind Charles Parnell (9-2) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs.
Nightjar (USA) 20-1 (8-10) Chased leader, ridden over 2f out, weakening when not much room entering final furlong, last of 12, 11l behind Princely Hero (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Nov.
