awkwardly away, held up off the pace in last pair, never on terms
held up off the pace towards rear on inside, never on terms
raced keenly tracking leaders on inside, going well over 2f out, led inside final 2f, ridden over 1f out, narrowly headed inside final furlong, stayed on but always held
held up in mid-division, good headway near side rail 2f out, ridden to challenge when hung left and carried head high over 1f out, led inside final furlong, always just doing enough
tracked leaders, pushed along and hung left over 2f out, ridden and stayed on between horses inside final furlong, never enough pace to challenge
held up towards rear, pushed along out wide over 3f out, soon beaten
started very slowly, off the pace in rear, headway on inside over 1f out, plugged on in 4th final furlong,
soon crossed over to track leaders, pushed along and lost 2nd over 1f out, chased leaders, weakened final furlong
held up in mid-division on inside, some headway far side of group 2f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out
raced keenly towards rear, switched right and stayed on inside final furlong, never dangerous
soon crossed over from wide draw to lead on rail, ridden and headed inside final 2f, lost 2nd soon after, weakening when not clear run and eased inside final furlong
ZEALOT included a course and distance hat-trick in his four-timer and looks worth sticking with until beaten given nothing looked like catching him here last time. Court Of Session has come up short in this grade and finished behind Hafeet Alain at Kempton last time while Counsel’s recent second came in a lower grade at Chelmsford. Alrehb ended last season with placed efforts at Newmarket while Diderot and Dark Pine return from lay-offs.
Dark Pine (IRE) 11-2 (9-10) Held up in rear, headway over 1f out, edged left under pressure and stayed on inside final furlong, joined 4th post, 4th of 7, 3l behind Pistoletto (9-5) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp (3) pol in Apr.
Hafeet Alain (IRE) 13-2 (9-9) Raced keenly towards rear, headway between horses over 1f out, strong run inside final furlong, finished well, just missed 3rd, 4th of 13, 1 1/4l behind Imperial Sands (9-10) at Kempton 1m hcp (3) pol in Jan.
Diderot 5-1 (9-5) Steadied start, keen in touch in rear, pushed along over 2f out, never a factor, 5th of 6, 13 1/2l behind Peter The Great (9-6) at Chelmsford City 1m 2f hcp (2) pol in Jun.
Alrehb (USA) 5-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, pushed along and no impression well over 1f out, ridden and stayed on well inside last, nearest finish, 3rd of 8, 1 3/4l behind Noble Dynasty (9-11) at Newmarket 7f hcp (2) gd in Sep.
Court Of Session 7-2 (9-3) Held up off the pace in last pair, headway out wide over 1f out, ridden and stayed on inside final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders, 8th of 13, 1 3/4l behind Imperial Sands (9-10) at Kempton 1m hcp (3) pol in Jan.
Cliffs Of Capri 66-1 (9-4) Steadied and switched right start, held up in rear, some late headway, never troubled leaders, 9th of 13, 2 1/2l behind Imperial Sands (9-10) at Kempton 1m hcp (3) pol in Jan.
Zealot 9-4fav (9-1) Slowly away, soon switched right, recovered to lead after 1f, ridden over 1f out, stayed on well inside final furlong, won at Southwell 1m hcp (4) pol in Jan beating Dingle (9-1) by 1 1/2l, 6 ran.
Conservative (IRE) 6-1 (9-5) Chased leaders, outpaced over 4f out, weakened over 3f out, last of 9, 17 1/4l behind Makinmedoit (9-9) at Salisbury 1m 2f hcp (4) gf in Sep.
Perseverants (FR) 125-1 (9-1) Towards rear far side, ridden over 2f out, no progress, 10th of 11, 13 1/2l behind Awaal (9-9) at Redcar 1m hcp (3) hvy in Oct.
Tothenines (IRE) 9-1 (8-10) Last to break, soon mid-division, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, not trouble leaders, 4th of 9, 2 1/4l behind Tiger Crusade (9-9) at Southwell 7f hcp (3) pol in Jan.
Counsel 13-2 (9-5) Took keen hold, tracked leaders, pushed along over 2f out, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, kept on one pace, 2nd of 6, 3/4l behind Brains (9-8) at Chelmsford City 1m hcp (4) pol in Jan.
