keen, held up in touch, headway to chase leader and came centre over 2f out, ridden and every chance over 1f out, chased winner and kept on one pace inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, driven over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong
raced wide in rear, headway over 2f out, ridden to press leaders over 1f out, staying on when switched left inside final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, soon one pace
held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, hung right and led over 1f out, ran on
dwelt, wide, ridden along early, in rear, ridden 4f out, driven and weakened 2f out
keen, tracked leader, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out
An open affair where preference is for the reliable CALCULATING whilst Victory Quest and Three Boars are also capable of giving good accounts. Calculating arrives in decent heart and is still feasibly treated despite recent rises in the weights as he managed to win from a mark of 83 in the spring of 2008. He finished third in last year's renewal and should give it another good go. Victory Quest is going for a hat-trick in this contest so clearly merits respect but he was beaten a long way earlier in the month although that was his first run since April so it's reasonable to assume that he needed it. Three Boars is another well handicapped runner judged by his efforts in the spring of last year and it may be worth taking the chance that he can bounce back to form with Darryll Holland back in the saddle. Lost Soldier Three has been in decent form over shorter and should go well, Zuwaar also arrives in good heart whilst Resplendent Ace and Dubai Diva are potential players although the former has stamina queries to answer and the latter has to bounce back from a poor run. This looks competitive but Calculating may have the answer.
Lost Soldier Three (IRE) 11-4fav (9-8) Held up towards rear, headway approaching 3f out, chased leader and switched left approaching final furlong, driven and every chance inside final furlong, not quick near finish, 2nd of 12, hd behind Bosamcliff (8-11) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Nov.
Victory Quest (IRE) 10-1 (9-11) Set steady pace, headed 6f out, ridden and dropped to rear 4f out, soon struggling, last of 5, 24l behind Follow The Dream (8-10) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs.
Resplendent Ace (IRE) 12-1 (10-5) Held up in rear, headway over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, kept on under pressure, 2nd of 10, 1 3/4l behind Desert Vision (10-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f Amateur Handicap (0-75) (3yo+) (5) pol.
Zuwaar 13-8fav (9-8) Tracked leader, led over 4f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on towards finish, 3rd of 7, 1/2l behind Bentley Brook (10-0) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Calculating (IRE) 5-1 (8-2) Mid-division, pushed along 3f out, headway on outside 2f out, stayed on to take 3rd inside final furlong, not trouble front pair, 3rd of 8, 3l behind Clear Reef (9-6) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Three Boars 33-1 (9-5) Always in rear, eased final 2f, 12th of 13, 43l behind Benozzo Gozzoli (8-0) at Nottingham 2m hcp 0-65 (6) gd in Oct.
Dubai Diva 8-11fav (9-7) Tracked leading pair, ridden when struck by rival's whip approaching 2f out, soon weakened, 4th of 7, 11l behind K'gari (8-6) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Nov.
