held up in rear, headway 5f out, led on bit over 2f out, ridden clear over 1f out, soon edged left, ran on well
held up in rear, ridden and not clear run over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on, never near leaders
steadied start, took keen hold, held up and behind, switched right and headway over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, not quicken
held up in rear, headway over 6f out, led well over 3f out until over 2f out, weakened final furlong
prominent, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up and behind, ridden 4f out, no response
led, headed 9f out, with leaders until weakened over 2f out
took keen hold, led 9f out, headed well over 3f out, weakened final furlong
prominent, joined leaders 4f out, weakened well over 2f out
behind final 5f
mid-division, some headway on outside over 2f out, no impression
held up in touch, weakened well over 3f out
In a race that will take little winning, Aveiro gets the vote over Regency Red and Saddler's Quest, with Flight of Araby best of the rest. On official ratings, Aveiro has leading claims as he is rated 59, yet is set to carry five pounds less than Regency Red who has shown the best recent form. To be fair, the latter has been knocking on the door and will not go down without a fight, but Aveiro has performed well in better company in the past, and if allowed to dominate from the front, Greg Chung's charge may prove hard to pass. It is a long time since Saddler's Quest captured the Lingfield Derby Trial for Gerard Butler, four years in fact, and he returns to the level after a fruitless campaign over timber. He is obviously not the force of old but it would be no surprise if he were to be involved in the finish, such is the poor quality of the opposition overall. In a race in which bets are best kept to a minimum, Aveiro is taken to make all.
Regency Red (IRE) 10-1 Chased leaders, ridden and every chance when hung left over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 2nd of 13, 5l behind Simply The Guest at Southwell 1m 3f hcp (F4) fbs.
Aveiro (IRE) 33-1 Behind, ridden and headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, never reached leaders, 6th of 11, 8l behind True Companion at W'hampton 1m 4f amt hcp (E3) pol.
Flite of Araby 16-1 Held up, stayed on final furlong, never dangerous, 7th of 13, 4 1/2l behind Iftikhar at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp (F4) pol.
Saddler's Quest 28-1 Tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 13th of 16, 27l behind Turn Of Phrase at Carlisle 1m 4f hcp (F4) gd in Sept.
Street Games 40-1 In touch, ridden halfway, soon weakened, 12th of 14, well behind Dafa at Southwell 1m 4f stk (H5) fbs in Jan.
A Monk Swimming (IRE) 9-2 Held up, good headway on outside over 3f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 7th of 14, 11l behind Science Academy at Yarmouth 1m 3f mdn hcp (F) gf in Aug.
Vrisaki (IRE) 50-1 Behind, headway over 8f out, ridden and weakened 3f out, 10th of 14, 17l behind Amwell Brave at Lingfield 1m 4f 3yo mdn (D3) pol in Nov.
Margold (IRE) 14-1 Held up, headway 5f out, ridden over 3f out, one pace final 2f, 6th of 13, 7l behind Mr Dip at W'hampton 1m 6f stk (H5) pol.
