soon led, ridden 3f out, hung right over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, one pace
held up, headway over 1f out, one pace
held up, headway over 1f out, ridden and not quicken
held up, ridden and short lived effort over 2f out
in touch, shaken up to lead inside final furlong readily
tracked leader, ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leaders, weakened over 2f out
A high calibre turnout for the nightcap and DOCOFTHEBAY is selected to get the better of Abbondanza and Fajr. Jamie Osborne's 5-year-old is having only his third run on the all-weather, but he boasts a decent strike-rate having won and finished second on his two previous outings. He does have a short absence to overcome here but he could have the race set up for him by Abbondanza. The presence of Ian Semple's 6-year-old should guarantee that they go a decent pace here and that should play into the hands of our selection. Fajr ran no sort of race at Lingfield last time, in fact he has only beaten two horses home in his last four runs so he is hard to back with confidence at present. Mahadee has got a decent strike-rate on the all-weather and although he was well beaten at Kempton last time, that was in a Listed contest. A good race to close the card, and Docofthebay can gain his first success of 2009.
Abbondanza (IRE) 6-1 (8-11) Led, pressed 2f out, headed approaching final furlong, kept on until lost two places inside final furlong, 4th of 6, 4l behind Aeroplane (9-2) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-100 (2) pol.
Tourist 8-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, effort 3f out, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 11, 22l behind Stevie Thunder (9-7) at Newcastle 1m 3yo hcp (4) sft in Jun.
Docofthebay (IRE) 20-1 (9-7) Slowly into stride, raced centre, held up, pushed along over 3f out, always behind, 26th of 28, 29l behind Tazeez (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcap (2) gf in Oct.
Fajr (IRE) 33-1 (9-7) Steadied start and settled in rear, ridden and close enough 2f out, no headway over 1f out, one pace, last of 9, 5l behind Red Somerset (8-2) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-100 (2) pol.
Mahadee (IRE) 16-1 (9-0) Raced keenly, close up, ridden 2f out, soon weakened, 10th of 14, 12l behind Mac Love (9-2) at Kempton 1m lst stk (1) pol in Nov.
Indian Diva (IRE) 17-2 (9-4) Prominent, ridden to lead over 2f out, driven clear final furlong, won at Southwell 7f fll hcp (5) fbs beating To Be Or Not To Be (8-12) by 3 1/2l, 6 ran.
Naomh Geileis (USA) 16-1 (8-12) Towards rear, ridden along 3f out, lost touch over 2f out, soon tailed off, last of 8, 50l behind Lady Jane Digby (8-4) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-100 (2) pol.