slowly into stride, held up, headway 3f out, edged slightly left and led over 1f out, headed well inside final furlong
held up, headway well over 1f out, kept on under pressure inside final furlong
chased leader, led over 2f out, headed well over 1f out, weakened final furlong
in touch, led well over 1f out, soon headed, weakened inside final furlong
in touch, raced keenly, not clear run and switched right over 1f out, hard ridden to lead well inside final furlong
raced keenly, led, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakening when not much room soon after
Another terrible race where THE WILY WOODCOCK just gets the nod ahead of Templetuohy Max. The selection is largely borne out of the good form shown by trainer Gary Moore of late, together with the fact that, in context at least, the four-year-old gelding has shown some respectable form over both this sort of trip and around the Dunstall Park circuit. All of that adds up to a less-than-confident choice. Templetuohy Max drops back in trip after going close here over 12f last time. James Bethell has not had many runners of late but those he has sent out have gone quite well, and so he looks likely to be heavily involved. Nicky Richards has not had a winner on the flat since before 2001, so That'll Do Nicely would be a bit of a surprise scorer, while Magnus Hill will have to improve a fair bit for his Dundalk debut. Castaneous may well be more interesting after this run, when the handicapper will have to assess him, but we will take The Wily Woodcock to score.
Magners Hill (IRE) 33-1 (9-4) Dwelt, soon mid-division, moderate 9th halfway, 5th over 1f out, kept on same pace from over 1f out, 4th of 14, 6l behind Alhabeeb (9-6) at Dundalk 1m 3f stk pol in Nov.
The Wily Woodcock 7-1 (9-6) Towards rear, plugged on towards finish, 6th of 13, 10l behind Bramalea (9-1) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Oct.
Charlie Allnut 7-1 (9-1) Towards rear, never on terms, last of 11, 10l behind Royal Manor (9-2) at Lingfield 7f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Nov.
Jordi Roper (IRE) 20-1 (8-10) Led, headed 3f out, soon weakened, 13th of 14, 20l behind Solo River (8-13) at Brighton 1m 2f 3yo hcp (6) gd in Aug.
Templetuohy Max (IRE) 15-8fav (9-2) Held up in touch, raced keenly, every chance over 1f out, unable to quicken inside final furlong, 2nd of 7, 1l behind Azabu Juban (8-8) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Nov.
Martingrange Lass (IRE) 33-1 (8-12) Led until headed over 2f out, lost 2nd over 1f out, weakened quickly final furlong, 4th of 10, 13l behind Yab Adee (9-9) at Kempton 1m 4f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Nov.
Castaneous (IRE) 33-1 (9-8) Held up, pushed along over 3f out, headway over 2f out, stayed on to take 3rd inside furlong, 3rd of 11, 9l behind Cape Express (9-3) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol.
That'll Do Nicely (IRE) 25-1 (9-6) Bumped start, effort on outside over 2f out, plugged on, 6th of 13, 11l behind Shamali (9-3) at W'hampton 1m 1f mdn stk (5) pol in Nov.
