held up in last pair, ridden and outpaced after 3 out, headway into 3rd after next, stayed on and every chance flat, no extra towards finish
tracked leaders, not fluent 5th, soon lost place, weakened after 3 out
led or disputed lead until reminders after 3rd, lost place 5th, behind from next, soon tailed off and pulled up
tracked leaders, not fluent 7th, 3rd and ridden before 2 out, lost place soon after, no impression before last
held up in last pair, headway 6th, went 2nd before 2 out, every chance last, ridden to challenge flat, stayed on to lead narrowly towards finish
led or disputed lead to 4th, not fluent and lost place next, reminders after 6th, behind from 3 out, tailed off
in touch on outside, led 4th, ridden after 2 out, hard pressed last, kept on under pressure flat, headed narrowly towards finish
Nothing strong here in a modest closer and probably wise to tread with a degree of caution. Positive Vibes did run his best race since joining Richard Woollacott last time without ever looking like winning when runner-up at Taunton, whilst the trio of Band Of Thunder, Saga De Tercey and Titch Strider all have absences of around 500 days to overcome. The market may help to sort out which is ready to roll here. Black Bizarre is a possible improver but RIOR is the selection. He scored here last December, since when his form has rather deteriorated before his latest effort which produced a close-up fifth to Jayo Time, beaten only three lengths. A repeat of that performance would probably suffice despite topweight and he's also been dropped 1lb for that latest run.
Rior (IRE) 9-2 (11-7) Held up towards rear, pushed along and headway before 2 out, ridden before last, kept on, 5th of 8, 3l behind Jayo Time (11-0) at Wincanton 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gd in Oct.
Black Bizarre (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Held up mid-division, pushed along before 4 out, weakened before 3 out, 4th of 11, 36l behind Super Sam (11-0) at Chepstow 2m 4f mdn hdl (5) sft.
Band Of Thunder 13-2 (10-5) Made virtually all, not fluent 2 out, stayed on well to draw clear flat, won at Worcester 2m 7f nov hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gd in Jul '13 beating Chosen Dream (11-1) by 8l, 13 ran.
Saga de Tercey (FR) 11-2 (11-12) Tracked leaders, reminder after 3rd, ridden 5th, soon lost place, behind when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Jigsaw Financial (10-4) at Worcester 2m 4f sell hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in Jul '13, 15 ran.
Positive Vibes 4-1 (10-11) Held up in rear, mistake 1st, slow 6th, headway to cahse leaders 4 out, went 2nd approaching last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 15l behind Kalimantan (11-10) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-100 (5) fm in Oct.
Follow The Tracks (IRE) 14-1 (11-2) Held up, not fluent 8th, soon weakened, pulled up after next, in a race won by Jump Up (11-7) at Ffos Las 3m hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gs in Oct '13, 10 ran.
Sun Quest 16-1 (11-5) Raced wide, held up in rear, headway approaching 2 out, weakened before last, 6th of 11, 33l behind Full Ov Beans (10-13) at Stratford 2m 6f 4yo Am hcp 0-100 (5) gd in Oct.
Flashy Star 22-1 (11-0) Held up in rear, weakened from 4 out, 7th of 11, 33l behind Dazzling Rita (10-10) at Stratford 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gd in Oct.
Titch Strider (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) Held up in rear, went modest 4th soon after 4 out, poor 3rd after next, 3rd of 7, well behind Otto The Great (10-12) at Newton Abbot 2m 6f nh nov hdl (4) gf in Jun '13.
