raced keenly, held up in 4th and wide, smooth headway approaching 2 out, 2nd 2 out, every chance run-in, just held
raced wide, led until after 4th, chased leader, led again 2 out, ridden and strongly pressed run-in, found bit extra towards finish
raced on inside, chased leader until 3rd, chased leaders, every chance 3 out, weakened before next, tailed off
raced on inside throughout, always last, outpaced before hit 2 out, plugged on in modest 4th run-in
raced bit wide, chased leaders, went 2nd at 3rd, led narrowly after next, bit awkward 4 out, joined next, headed and no extra in 3rd 2 out
NonRunner
A tricky little heat in which ASHUTOR is not the most confident of choices but he hasn't had too much racing since joining the Paul Nicholls yard and the best of his form - a useful runner-up effort behind Haafapiece at Huntingdon in November - reads pretty well in the context of this race. He's down 3lb from his previous mark and his talented pilot takes off another 5lb. War Lord isn't on a bad mark but Ferrobin seems to have lost form totally and is probably best watched until the fires rekindle, Atomix returns from a very lengthy absence but it would be dangerous to rule out the claims of the two four-year-olds who have both been performing creditably.
Ashutor (FR) 6-1 (10-1) Mid-division, shaken up to chase leaders before 2 out, soon one pace, never on terms, weakened between last 2, 8th of 13, 29 1/4l behind Mack The Man (10-1) at Sandown 2m hcp lst (1) hvy in Dec.
War Lord (GER) 7-2 (11-9) Chased leading pair, pushed along and outpaced after 4 out, weakened into 4th run-in, finished tired, 4th of 12, dist behind Sir Psycho (10-11) at Exeter 2m 1f (4) sft in Jan.
Atomix (GER) 22-1 (11-2) Held up behind, outpaced 4 out, plugged on from last, no chance with leaders, 6th of 7, 26 1/2l behind Capitaine (11-8) at Market Rasen 2m 1f (3) gd in Oct.
Hereia (IRE) 4-1 (11-4) Led until after 2nd, chased winner, hampered by loose horse 3rd and next, pushed along and lost 2nd 2 out, soon weakened, mistake last, 3rd of 4, 26l behind Palladium (10-12) at Sandown 2m (3) sft in Jan.
Motashakel (IRE) 7-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, headway 3 out, went 2nd last, not able to challenge winner, lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Megalodon (10-9) at Warwick 2m hcp (4) sft in Jan.
Karakoram 7-1 (11-11) Held up towards rear, headway before 2 out, switched right and went 3rd between last 2, went 2nd run-in, no chance with winner when rider eased up briefly 100 yards out, 2nd of 11, 2l behind Knight Destroyer (11-8) at Taunton 2m hcp (4) hvy in Jan.
Ferrobin (IRE) 12-1 (11-12) Held up in rear, never threatened, 6th of 10, 19 3/4l behind Eddiemaurice (11-12) at Newbury 2m hcp (4) hvy in Jan.
