held up, pushed along over 4f out, headway 2f out, ridden, every chance approaching final furlong, kept on same pace
led, ridden, headed well over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong
in touch, driven over 2f out, soon beaten
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up, driven over 5f out, never a factor
towards rear, effort over 4f out, never dangerous
prominent, reminders over 5f out, ridden to lead well over 1f out, kept on gamely final furlong
The shortlisted three for this race are Sovereign Spirit, Trance and Oldenway, with the vote going to Sovereign Spirit. Sovereign Spirit has looked progressive in winning his last two races. He defied a three-pounds ratings rise to score last time, and will have to do so again, but he might just prove up to the task. Trance is another that holds possibilities, being four pounds above his fairly-recent course and distance win, while Oldenway looked an improved performer at today's trip when scoring over course and distance on January 12th, and the handicapper does not seem to have overreacted to that success. Jackie Kiely has a six-pounds penalty to carry for a recent 12-furlong win, although he would have been an unlucky loser there after arriving late on the scene, but you could argue that Sovereign Spirit has the edge on him based on 12-furlong course form of January 17th. Finally, Blue Hills was behind both Victory Quest and He's A Star over two miles here on February 9th, and Victory Quest might hold the advantage again. Overall, though, the vote stays with Sovereign Spirit.
Trance (IRE) 15-2 (8-7) Towards rear, headway over 3f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 9, 1 1/2l behind Pass The Port (8-9) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Jan.
Oldenway 14-1 (9-1) Raced keenly, led until headed 2f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 12, 5l behind Dovedon Hero (8-13) at Lingfield 1m 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Victory Quest (IRE) 9-1 (9-10) Tracked leader, led 3f out, driven out final furlong, won at Southwell 2m hcp 0-65 (6) fbs beating High Frequency (8-11) by 1 1/2l, 8 ran.
Sovereign Spirit (IRE) 2-1fav (9-7) Held up mid-division, headway to chase leaders 6f out, led 3f out, ridden clear over 1f out, stayed on, won at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol beating Keshya (9-3) by 3/4l, 13 ran.
Jackie Kiely 11-4fav (8-10) Held up in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, all out, won at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs beating Polish Power (8-4) by a shd, 13 ran.
Blue Hills 9-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, kept on again to lead close home, won at W'hampton 2m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Jamaar (9-0) by a hd, 13 ran.
He's A Star 4-1 (9-4) Prominent, pushed along over 4f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 8, 2l behind Victory Quest (9-10) at Southwell 2m hcp 0-65 (6) fbs.