in touch, headway 6f out, ridden and one pace final 3f
started slowly, behind, ridden over 4f out, stayed on well final furlong, nearest the finish
behind, headway 5f out, ridden over 3f out, one pace when hung left over 1f out
held up, headway over 5f out, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened
led 1f, prominent, ridden and one pace final 3f
keen, mid-division, headway 6f out, ridden 5f out, lost place over 3f out, hung left over 1f out, kept on final furlong
slowly into stride, always towards rear
mid-division, ridden and headway after 2f, went 2nd 6f out, ridden over 4f out, outpaced by winner over 2f out, no chance when edged left when inside final furlong
led after 1f, ridden when hung right and headed 7f out, weakened over 5f out, eased final 3f
prominent, led 7f out, ridden clear over 2f out, edged right over 1f out, eased towards finish
mid-division, headway over 3f out, soon ridden, one pace final 2f
Antley Court, Candarli and Esprit de Corps are the three that catch the eye here and Antley Court is taken to lead them home. Sir Mark Prescott¿s Esprit de Corps shaped with great promise on his debut at Lingfield where he finished strongly after running green. Made favourite at Southwell next time, he ran no sort of race, finishing well beaten. He can put that run behind him and go well here. Candarli is totally exposed over jumps but has only run twice on the Flat and shaped encouragingly to be fourth recently. In a trappy race, Candarli can go well at a nice price. Reg Hollinshead¿s Antley Court can take a weak affair. He finished ahead of Esprit de Corps last time and his form looks mildly progressive. Antley Court gets a tentative vote.
Candarli (IRE) 33-1 (9-1) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 4th of 11, 4 1/2l behind Caraman (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol.
Antley Court (IRE) 40-1 (9-0) Prominent, hard ridden over 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, 4th of 14, 6l behind Sand Repeal (9-0) at Southwell 1m 3f mdn stk (5) fbs.
Esprit de Corps 15-8fav (9-0) Dwelt and towards rear, never on terms, 9th of 14, 23l behind Sand Repeal (9-0) at Southwell 1m 3f mdn stk (5) fbs.
Giant's Rock (IRE) 5-1 (8-8) Slowly into stride, always in rear, last of 9, 8l behind Eloquent Knight (8-2) at Leicester 1m 3yo hcp (5) gs in Apr.
Dayoff (IRE) 4-1 (8-11) In rear, ridden along 3f out, never dangerous, 6th of 9, 12l behind Heartcrusher (8-9) at W'hampton 1m 1f mdn stk (5) pol in Dec.
Pips Assertive Way 40-1 (8-13) Led, headed 7f out, chased leaders, ridden 4f out, weakened final 3f, 8th of 11, 31l behind Caraman (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol.
A Thousand Smiles (IRE) 3-1fav (8-9) Prominent, led 2f out, headed and no extra well inside final furlong, 3rd of 14, 2l behind Danse Spectre (8-9) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo mdn (5) pol in Dec.
Lake Imperial (IRE) 25-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, no headway final 3f, 8th of 12, 20l behind Flaming Eyes (8-9) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (D3) pol in Dec '04.
