tracked leaders, weakened over 3f out, tailed off final furlong
with leader, hard ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly away, in rear, pushed along and outpaced over 3f out, stayed on approaching final furlong
mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on under pressure final furlong
mid-division, pushed along over 4f out, weakened over 2f out
tracked leaders, stayed on final furlong
mid-division, headway on outer 3f out, led 2f out, edged left and ridden clear inside final furlong
led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden over 2f out, not much room over 1f out, ran on well to take 2nd close home, nearest finish
in touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on
held up towards rear, outpaced over 3f out, kept on final 2f, no impression
Quite a few well-known old-timers in this race, including Eton, J R Stevenson, Regency Red and Rasid, and what wins this will depend more on what is going on in their heads as compared to what the form book might tell us. Regency Red seems a little more reliable than the others so he gets the vote. Mark Brisbourne's charge scored over this trip at Musselburgh in September and over nine furlongs on this course last month, so seems fairly versatile as regards distance, and is in decent form as he followed that last victory with a close second back here on January 4th. Eton wins infrequently and is generally a weak finisher these days, while Rasid threw in the towel after getting a little squeezed for room at Lingfield last time and cannot be trusted. J R Stevenson was good enough to win off a much higher rating in his youth and comes from a good all-weather stable, that of Newmarket handler Ernst Oertel, but has been beaten an aggregate of over 80 lengths on his last three outings so is impossible to select here. Sol Rojo has a reasonable form chance, but is not proven at this mile-and-a-half trip, so course and distance winner Regency Red is the pick.
Eton (GER) 9-1 (9-3) Led early, settled in touch, led 6f out, headed over 1f out, one pace, 3rd of 11, 9l behind Activist (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 6f sll (6) pol.
York Cliff 5-2fav (9-3) Slowly into stride, headway over 4f out, beaten final furlong, 6th of 11, 29l behind Activist (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 6f sll (6) pol.
Champion Lion (IRE) 7-2 (9-4) Held up towards rear, headway on outside over 2f out, ridden, soon weakened, 8th of 12, 6l behind Mungo Jerry (9-8) at W'hampton 1m 4f sll (6) pol in Dec.
Je Suis Belle 11-2 (8-6) Prominent, short of room on inside rail over 2f out, kept on one pace, 4th of 11, 6l behind Competitor (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 2f sll (6) pol in Dec.
J R Stevenson (USA) 12-1 (8-11) Held up, headway over 7f out, chased leaders over 3f out, soon no impression, 7th of 13, 15l behind Padre Nostro (9-1) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs.
Regency Red (IRE) 4-1 (8-11) Mid-division, headway over 3f out, edged left inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 13, 1/2l behind Opera Knight (8-12) at W'hampton 1m 1f banded stk (7) pol.
Sol Rojo 12-1 (8-13) Led, headed 7f out, soon hit rail, ridden over 3f out, not quicken inside final furlong, 3rd of 13, 1l behind Cup of Love (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Zaffeu 7-1 (8-5) Dwelt, held up in rear, headway on outside 2f out, ridden over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong without being dangerous, 4th of 12, 3l behind I'll Do It Today (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Dec.
