slowly away, in rear, soon detached
tracked leader, ridden and weakened over 1f out
made all, ridden over 1f out, kept on well
towards rear, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, one pace
held up mid-division, ridden over 1f out, no impression
towards rear and outpaced, never a factor
held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, one pace
chased leaders in 4th, ridden inside final furlong, kept on to take 2nd place towards finish, no chance with winner
tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong
chased leaders in 5th, ridden over 1f out, chased winner over 1f out until no extra towards finish
slowly away, always behind
None of these arrive in sparkling form and though Ziggy Lee won his latest outing at Beverley, that was back in July and this is tougher. Kimberella won easily at Ripon earlier but failed to cope with an 8lb rise at Newmarket last time and Doc Hay has run nowhere near his best in either start this year. A prolific winner in France, Lover Man finished last in the Ayr Gold Cup on his first start for a new yard while both Hopes N Dreams and Noble Storm have struggled since winning conditions races in September. COSMIC CHATTER can only be a tentative selection as he failed to win last season but did go very close at York at this time last year off a higher mark. David Barron's charge gets the nod on that basis.
Doc Hay (USA) 33-1 (9-6) Raced stands side, always in rear, 16th of 19, 23l behind Monsieur Joe (9-6) at York 5f hcp 0-105 (2) gs.
Lover Man (IRE) 25-1 (9-1) Led center until merged with stand side halfway, weakened over 2f out, tailed off, last of 26, 32l behind Highland Colori (8-13) at Ayr 6f hcp (2) gs in Sep.
Noble Storm (USA) 20-1 (9-5) Chased leaders on outside, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 7th of 12, 8l behind Sir Maximilian (8-7) at Chester 5f hcp 0-105 (2) gd.
Waffle (IRE) 16-1 (9-0) 10th of 14, 12l behind Reynaldothewizard (9-0) at Meydan(UAE) 6f stks (3yo+) in Jan '13.
Hopes N Dreams (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Led stands side group, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 10th of 16, 8l behind Fast Shot (8-2) at Ripon 6f hcp 0-105 (2) gd in Apr.
Cosmic Chatter 20-1 (8-13) Pressed leader far side, ridden and lost place over 1f out, kept on same pace, no impression inside final furlong, 7th of 16, 3l behind Fast Shot (8-2) at Ripon 6f hcp 0-105 (2) gd in Apr.
Confessional 20-1 (9-2) Off the pace in mid-division, pushed along halfway, ridden and no impression over 1f out, 8th of 12, 9l behind Sir Maximilian (8-7) at Chester 5f hcp 0-105 (2) gd.
Pearl Acclaim (IRE) 25-1 (9-1) Raced stand side, overall leader until ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 13th of 21, 8l behind Goldream (8-10) at Newmarket 6f hcp (2) gf.
Kimberella 12-1 (8-10) Raced stand side, prominent, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 10th of 21, 5l behind Goldream (8-10) at Newmarket 6f hcp (2) gf.
Da'quonde (IRE) 33-1 (8-13) Off the pace in 5th, ridden over 1f out, one pace and no impression inside final furlong, 6th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Swan Song (8-13) at Chester 5f cond Stakes (3) gd.
Ziggy Lee 11-1 (9-2) Mid-division, headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, kept on, won at Beverley 5f hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Jul beating Flash City (9-7) by 3/4l, 15 ran.
