in touch, chased winner 4f out, ridden 3f out, stayed on final furlong
in touch, short of room and bumped and soon outpaced entering final 4f, ridden over 3f out, stayed on to go a remote 3rd inside final furlong
held up, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
held up in rear, reminders over 4f out, headway to 3rd over 3f out, soon ridden along, weakened and lost 2 places inside final furlong
soon led and clear, headed 4f out, ridden and soon weakened, behind final 3f
The penultimate contest is a true staying test where Supsonic and Dream In Blue both have really good chances but this race seems to add up for CALCULATING. A six pounds penalty for last time out success will make life tougher for David Probert's mount but he was competitive off higher marks in December and he is obviously running well. He steps up a couple of furlongs in trip from that last success but has won over this distance in the past and ran on well last time to hint that he still gets this. Supsonic is also proven over two miles albeit in a novice hurdle on heavy ground. He does like it here and ran well enough under a penalty last time. Dream In Blue has finished second best in all three career starts so far. They have all come on polytrack but there is some European dirt pedigree in this one to suggest he will handle this surface and he should be suited by a step up to this trip. Sir Mark Prescott's Rough Sketch should just about stay over this distance but his mark looks a little high while Ice And Fire, proven at this trip and on this surface, could be one in the mix at a bigger price.Despite this stamina test it should be a close run things with Calculating coming out on top.
Supsonic 11-4 (8-8) Led, ridden 3f out, headed over 2f out, soon outpaced by winner, weakened and lost 2nd inside final furlong, 3rd of 5, 8l behind Swiss Act (9-6) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs.
Three Boars 7-1 (9-11) Tracked leaders, chased leaders 2f out, soon weakened, 7th of 8, 13l behind Little Carmela (10-0) at Great Leighs 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Eforetta (GER) 11-2 (8-2) Prominent, ridden along over 3f out, driven to challenge and every chance over 1f out, stayed on same pace, 4th of 7, 4l behind Blockley (8-11) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs.
Rough Sketch (USA) 11-4fav (8-13) Mid-division, ridden to go 4th 2f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 8, 1 1/2l behind Shanafarahan (8-6) at Lingfield 1m 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Ice And Fire 10-1 (9-0) Dwelt, in rear, ridden over 6f out, kept on final furlong, never nearer, 4th of 10, 18l behind Hora (9-4) at Southwell 2m hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Jan '08.
Spiritonthemount (USA) 12-1 (8-4) Soon led and set steady pace, headed over 4f out, ridden over 3f out, one pace final 2f, 4th of 5, 7l behind Calculating (8-6) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs.
Calculating (IRE) 13-8fav (8-6) Fly jumped start, soon prominent, tracked leader over 6f out to over 4f out, ridden 2f out, led approaching final furlong, ran on, won at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs beating William's Way (9-4) by 2 1/2l, 5 ran.
Dream In Blue 10-11fav (9-12) Tracked leaders, ridden over 4f out, stayed on to take 2nd well inside final furlong, not troubled winner, 2nd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Simonside (9-7) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol.
