chased leading pair, pushed along halfway, ridden to chase winner 3f out, driven to challenge when carried right from over 1f out, unable to quicken inside final furlong
pushed along early in rear, took closer order on outer halfway, ridden 4f out, hung left from over 1f out, weakened final furlong
tracked winner until 4f out, behind final 2f
made all, ridden and came centre over 2f out, driven and hung right from over 1f, stayed on gamely
steadied start, always in rear
held up in rear, ridden over 3f out, kept on under pressure to go 4th near finish
held up, ridden over 3f out, headway to go 3rd over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
Peter Hiatt's Eseej is now 2lbs lower in the weights than when successful over course and distance in October and he has solid claims if able to reproduce the form that he showed that day but he has not been at his best of late, admittedly on the Polytrack, and a better bet looks to be WHOOSHKA, who gets the vote with Amazing Blue Sky rated the best of the rest. The selection won well over course and distance a week ago and Peter Chapple-Hyam's filly has solid claims of following up under her penalty for that success. Fitzolini has been running consistently well and has place claims but he is not certain to stay this far and a bigger threat is likely to come from Alan McCabe's Heathyards Junior, who is less exposed than most of his opponents and remains open to improvement over trip that may suit. John Quinn's Veiled Applause comes back following a break since running over hurdles in November and has to be considered but he disappointed on his previous run here and of more interest is another making their seasonal reappearance, Amazing Blue Sky. Ruth Carr's gelding has not been seen since August but has run well here before and he looks the main danger to the selection, Whooshka.
Whooshka (USA) 7-2 (9-6) Tracked leader until 7f out, went 2nd again over 4f out, soon ridden, driven to lead 2f out, soon headed, drifted left and right, rallied to lead again inside final furlong, all out, won at Southwell 1m 3f fll hcp (0-75) (5) fbs beating Miss Christophene (9-2) by 1 1/2l, 5 ran.
Veiled Applause 15-2 (9-0) Mid-division, steady headway approaching final furlong, never able to challenge, 4th of 11, 2 1/4l behind Nevada Desert (9-0) at Doncaster 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gs in Oct.
Amazing Blue Sky 9-1 (8-6) Soon led, made rest, hard ridden under pressure inside last, just held on, won at Sandown 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Aug beating Sequillo (9-0) by shd, 7 ran.
Eseej (USA) 2-1fav (9-5) Led, headed over 1f out, weakening when not much room approaching final furlong, 3rd of 5, 4l behind Oxford City (9-1) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jan.
Toby Tyler 14-1 (8-4) Slowly into stride, soon pushed along in rear, never a factor, 7th of 9, 12l behind Trans Sonic (7-13) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Feb.
Heathyards Junior 14-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden and kept on one pace from over 1f out, 4th of 11, 7l behind General Tufto (8-13) at Southwell 1m hacp 0-70 (5) fbs in Feb.
Almahaza (IRE) 9-2 (9-4) Dwelt, held up in mid-division, on inside, ridden and headway over 2f out, every chance when hung left from over 1f out, not quicken towards finish, 2nd of 12, 3/4l behind Topcroft (8-11) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-60 (6) fbs in Dec.
Fitzolini 12-1 (9-2) Broke well with leaders, ridden to lead over 2f out, headed over 1f out, driven and stayed on inside final furlong, 2nd of 13, 1l behind Pendragon (9-0) at Southwell 1m hcp (0-55) (6) fbs in Feb.
