slowly away in rear, headway on outer over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, kept on final furlong, never nearer
towards rear, headway over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, chased clear winner approaching final furlong, no threat
tracked leaders until ridden over 4f out, soon lost place
always in rear, struggling from 4f out
led 1f, tracked clear leader until over 5f out, soon lost place
keen, led after 1f, soon 4 length clear, increased lead 4f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra
tracked leaders, chased clear leader 5f out until ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
towards rear, headway over 3f out, chased clear leader over 2f out, led over 1f out, edged right and ridden clear, eased close home
in touch, ridden 3f out, never near leaders
NonRunner
ELUSIVE COWBOY came good over 1m4f here last month and should go well again despite a penalty as he remains unexposed. He was formerly trained in Ireland, as was dual hurdles winner Skilled, while Remember The Man debuts for Ralph Beckett having raced five times in France without success. Pivot Bridge makes the trip over from Ireland and has won twice at Dundalk while Uncle Bernie has his first start since 2015 but has recorded all four wins to date at this venue. Scrafton and With Hindsight are others that can be given a chance in a tricky opener.
Spiritoftomintoul 11-2 (9-13) Raced wide, tracked leader, pushed along over 3f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out, last of 7, 24l behind Western Prince (9-2) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Uncle Bernie (IRE) 25-1 (10-12) Always behind, outpaced before 3 out, 6th of 7, 32 3/4l behind Are They Your Own (11-5) at Uttoxeter 2m (4) gd in Jul.
English Summer 50-1 (9-10) Held up, lost place 6f out, behind 5f out, last of 14, 30 1/2l behind Come Back King (9-1) at Southwell 1m 3f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Amber Flush 20-1 (11-1) Prominent, led 6th, headed before next, weakened approaching 8th, pulled up before 3 out, at Towcester 3m hcp (5) gs in Dec.
Skilled 25-1 (9-13) Steadied start, held up and always last, pushed along and outpaced over 3f out, tailed off, last of 5, 27 1/4l behind El Campeon (9-11) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Remember The Man (IRE) (8-9) 6th of 7, 7 1/4l behind Jollify (8-10) at Saint-Cloud 1m 4f stks sft in Oct.
Elusive Cowboy (USA) 16-1 (8-13) Tracked leader, led over 2f out, ridden out, won at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (5) pol in Dec beating Threediamondrings (8-8) by 1 1/4l, 10 ran.
Pivot Bridge 16-1 (9-2) Mid-division on outer, ridden and weakened 4f out, 22nd of 23, dist behind Carraigin Aonair (8-5) at Leopardstown 1m 4f hcp Yielding in Oct.
Scrafton 16-1 (8-13) Keen mid-division, lost place over 5f out, 10th of 14, 22 3/4l behind Come Back King (9-1) at Southwell 1m 3f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
With Hindsight (IRE) 7-2 (11-0) Tracked leaders, went left and blundered 4th, lost place after 3 out, modest 4th from next, 4th of 11, dist behind For Goodness Sake (10-3) at Market Rasen 2m 1f mdn (4) gd in May.