towards rear, headway to chase leaders on outer over 5f out, pushed along over 1f out, kept inside final furlong, went 2nd close home, no chance with winner
pushed along to chase leaders, led after 1f, headed 3f out, soon pushed along, weakened entering final furlong
towards rear, pushed along over 1f out, kept on
chased leaders, chased winner over 1f out, no impression, lost 2nd close home
dwelt, close up, tracked leader, led 3f out, clear entering final furlong, pushed out
led 1f, tracked leader, lost place over 5f out, soon in rear
dwelt, in rear, pushed along over 2f out, soon weakened
slowly away, behind, never dangerous
Most of these arrive in good form including Justcallmehandsome, who gained his 14th all-weather success here at the beginning of the month though he's never won beyond 1m1f. Bussa has only run once on Polytrack but is quite well handicapped on his turf form and like ZAFRANAGAR his last run was over hurdles. The latter gets the vote as he's generally performed at a higher level than this and will appreciate what is likely to be a strong gallop. Opus Maximus is incredibly consistent at this sort of level and looks certain to get involved while Archie Rice returned to winning ways here recently and has won from a higher mark in the past.
Opus Maximus (IRE) 7-2 (8-8) Held up in rear, headway on outside from 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, stayed on strongly to lead near finish, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f clm stks (5) pol beating Spinning Ridge (8-12) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Kidlat 13-2 (9-0) In touch, led after 2f, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, no chance with winner when lost 2nd inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 7l behind True To Form (9-2) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f sell stks (6) pol in Nov.
Zafranagar (IRE) 13-2 (9-11) Tracked leader, led over 4f out, headed over 2f out, kept on under pressure, 3rd of 9, 3 1/2l behind Appeal (8-5) at Lingfield 1m 5f app hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Nov.
Focail Maith 8-1 (9-2) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Choral Festival (8-10) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Archie Rice (USA) 13-2 (9-3) Tracked leaders, led over 2f out, ridden clear and edged left 1f out, stayed on, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f app hcp (6) pol beating Knowe Head (9-6) by 1l, 12 ran.
Bussa 25-1 (8-10) Awkward leaving stalls, always raced in last place, ridden 4f out, short lived effort over 2f out, soon weakened, behind from over 1f out, last of 3, 40l behind Auld Burns (9-7) at Leicester 1m 2f con stks (3) gf in Jul.
Scary Movie (IRE) 6-1 (9-6) Tracked leaders, chased winner 3f out until inside final 2f, soon ridden, no impression from over 1f out, 5th of 12, 14l behind Megalala (9-1) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Justcallmehandsome 10-1 (9-0) Towards rear, headway over 5f out on outer, went 2nd well over 1f out, soon led and edged left, kept on well, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Stylistickhill (9-5) by 1 3/4l, 13 ran.
Black Coffee 25-1 (9-10) Held up behind, ridden over 1f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, never on terms, 7th of 11, 6l behind Mazij (9-4) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Nov.
