held up in rear, took keen hold, headway on outside 3rd, led 5th, headed before next, weakened well before 2 out
held up in rear, headway approaching 7th, ridden after 3 out, stayed on flat, no impression on winner
chased leaders, lost place 3rd, reminders after 5th, well beaten 3 out, pulled up before next
chased leaders, led 7th, clear 2 out, driven flat, stayed on well
led until 5th, led again before next, headed 7th, not fluent 2 out, stayed on flat, went 2nd towards finish, no impression on winner
held up in rear, headway from 6th, not fluent 3 out, stayed on flat, went 3rd towards finish, no impression on winner
mid-division, lost place 6th, well beaten 3 out
held up in rear, not fluent 3rd, ridden 7th, modest headway before 3 out, no impression and weakened before next
tracked leader until before 4th, not fluent 5th, weakened next, pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, mistake 7th, 7th and ridden after 3 out, mistake 2 out, never on terms, weakened flat
mid-division, ridden and struggling 6th, pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, lost place before 4th, behind from 7th
tracked leaders, ridden after 3 out, went 2nd before next, no impression on winner, no extra and lost 3 places towards finish
chased leaders, not fluent and lost place 4th, ridden after next, well beaten from 7th
tracked leaders, lost place 7th, weakened before 3 out
There's a big field for the finale but there looks to be quite a bit of dead wood. Stow's placed efforts have come in sellers but Winning Spark ran well last month after a break and should strip fitter today. On paper, he has every chance of reversing that form with winner UN BLEU A L'AAM but Victor Dartnall's gelding could be worth following now that he's got his head in front and is taken to score again. Ivanhoe only weakened at the last over track and trip on his reappearance and is another entitled to improve but Capilla probably needs a bit more on his handicap debut. Plumpton fourth Proud Times may be best of the rest as Rafafie could need this.
Capilla (IRE) 15-8fav (11-4) Led, headed after 3 out, no chance with winner before last, ridden and kept on flat, just held on for 2nd near finish, 2nd of 8, 13l behind Abundantly (10-6) at Taunton 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) hvy.
Ivanhoe 9-1 (11-10) Chased leaders, went 2nd after 2 out, every chance last, ridden and lost 2nd flat, kept on same pace in 3rd, 3rd of 14, 2l behind After Eight Sivola (11-3) at Taunton 2m 3f con hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Dec.
Spending Time 33-1 (11-2) Held up in touch, outpaced 3 out, stayed on to take modest 4th towards finish, no chance with leaders, 4th of 7, 24l behind Caracci Apache (11-9) at Plumpton 2m 5f NH nov hdl (4-7yo) (3) sft.
Winning Spark (USA) 8-1 (11-8) Took keen hold, disputed lead, driven to lead approaching 2 out, soon hard pressed ridden and headed flat, no extra in 3rd final 100 yards, 3rd of 13, 5l behind Un Bleu A L'aam (10-11) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Dec.
Proud Times (USA) 4-1 (11-7) Led to 5th, in touch, driven 3 out, one pace before next, no impression when ridden and hung left between last 2, 4th of 10, 9l behind Hold The Bucks (11-3) at Plumpton 2m hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft.
Rafafie 9-4fav (11-3) Chased leaders, not fluent 1st, went 2nd before omitted 3 out, led bypassing omitted 2 out, ridden and kept on well final 100 yards, won at Ffos Las 2m hcp hdl 0-100 (5) sft in May beating Devil's Dyke (11-10) by 2l, 9 ran.
Bedouin Bay 100-1 (11-3) Behind, plugged on into modest 6th after 2 out, no impression, 6th of 18, 30l behind Assam Black (11-9) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft.
Essteepee 100-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, not fluent 4th or 5th, lost place before next, not fluent 7th, well beaten after 3 out, 10th of 13, 40l behind Earthmoves (10-12) at Taunton 2m 3f nov hdl (4) sft in Nov.
Plato (JPN) 20-1 (11-6) Prominent, slight mistake 3rd, lost place from before 3 out, soon no impression, 8th of 16, 31l behind Katys Girl (11-7) at Kilbeggan 2m 6f hcp hdl 80-102 gd in Aug '13.
Un Bleu A L'aam (FR) 10-3 (10-11) Mid-division, headway 3 out, challenged when not fluent next, ridden to lead flat, kept on, won at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Dec beating Avel Vor (10-10) by 4l, 13 ran.
Secret Dancer (IRE) 11-1 (10-2) In rear, under pressure 3 out, soon beaten, 8th of 11, 36l behind Exitas (11-2) at Sandown 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Nov.
Eddy 33-1 (10-4) Held up in last pair, struggling in rear 5th, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Private Malone (11-12) at Wincanton 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) hvy, 9 ran.
Xaarcet (IRE) 5-2fav (11-12) Held up in touch, slow 5th, under pressure 4 out, pulled up soon after 3 out, in a race won by Petit Ecuyer (11-2) at Plumpton 2m 4f hcp 0-100 (5) hvy in Dec, 7 ran.
Spin Cast 12-1 (11-5) Tracked leader, pushed along 4th, led before 2 out, headed approaching last, weakened flat, 6th of 10, 11l behind King's Road (11-5) at Market Rasen 2m 1f sel hcp hdl (0-100) (5) gs in Dec.
Llamadas 100-1 (11-0) Last pair, struggling before 6th, tailed off 4 out, soon pulled up, in a race won by Brandon Hill (11-0) at Exeter 2m 7f mdn hdl (4) sft in Dec, 9 ran.
Stow 3-1fav (11-5) Chased winner who went clear after 4th, well beaten after 3 out, 2nd of 7, well behind Wayward Frolic (10-13) at Leicester 2m 4f sell hdl (5) hvy.
All But Grey 16-1 (11-7) Led until headed and weakened quickly bypassing omitted 3 out, tailed off, 10th of 14, 28l behind After Eight Sivola (11-3) at Taunton 2m 3f con hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Dec.
