held up in last pair, headway going well over 2f out, ridden and found little inside final furlong
steadied start, took keen hold in last pair, always behind, tailed off
chased leading pair until over 3f out, soon weakened
chased eading trio, went 3rd over 3f out, chased winner inside final 3f, ridden to challenge over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong
slowly into stride, in touch, driven along 3f out, plugged on same pace final 2f
led until ridden and headed 3f out, weakened over 2f out
chased leader, led 3f out, ridden and edged left over 1f out, stayed on
in touch, headway over 3f out, went 3rd inside final 3f, went 2nd and hung left inside final furlong, no impression
REALISATION won a much better race than this at Dundalk when last out and this big drop in class should negate his 5lb mark rise so he should go in again now proven on the surface. Stand Guard loves it here and is a few lb better off than his last score at this track and the fact he comes into this off the back of a good run at Kempton, off this mark, is an obvious plus. Captain John Nixon is back to a workable mark after shooting up the weights for landing a four-timer in the summer and his run behind the progressive Piano last time looks good form while Can Can Star can't be ruled out if fit after a break. Realisation, though, should be too classy.
Arizona John (IRE) 33-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders, weakened well over 2f out, 13th of 20, 11l behind Salden Licht (9-12) at Doncaster 1m 4f hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Oct.
Can Can Star 10-1 (9-4) Held up, wide and headway 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Thunderstruck (9-1) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jan.
Stand Guard 40-1 (9-7) Chased leaders, hard driven when every chance over 1f out, kept on well under pressure, 3rd of 14, 1 1/4l behind Hendersyde (9-11) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Oct.
Realisation (USA) 9-4fav (9-1) Always prominent, tracked leader in 2nd, 3rd 5f out, headway to challenge early straight, led under 2f out, kept on under pressure, strongly pressed well inside final furlong, held on, won at Dundalk 1m 4f hcp 60-85 pol in Oct beating The Pier (10-0) by hd, 14 ran.
Snow Dancer (IRE) 33-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, pushed along over 3f out, never dangerous, 12th of 14, 34l behind Bagber (8-12) at Ayr 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Oct.
Fine Sight 8-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden 4f out, weakened 2f out, 5th of 6, 26l behind Lucky Punt (9-12) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Oct.
Captain John Nixon 10-1 (9-5) Tracked leader and keen, ridden over 1f out and every chance, no extra inside final furlong, 5th of 10, 4l behind Piano (8-10) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Oct.
Saint Thomas (IRE) 14-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, edged over 1f out, driven to go 2nd inside final furlong, 2nd of 16, 1l behind Sharp Sovereign (9-1) at Pontefract 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.