held up, pushed along and headway over 1f out, effort between horses and every chance when short of room towards finish, unable to quicken close home
dwelt towards rear, never on terms
bumped start, in touch, headway over 2f out, ridden and no impression final furlong
went left start, tracked leaders, ridden and every chance over 1f out, no extra towards finish
led, ridden and headed approaching final furlong, weakened final furlong
always towards rear, weakened over 2f out
in touch, pushed along 2f out, ridden and stayed on inside final furlong, not trouble leaders
raced wide close up, ridden 2f out, driven to challenge inside final furlong when edged left inside final furlong, held close home
dwelt in rear, never on terms
keen held up, weakened over 2f out
mid-division, headway 2f out, ridden and ran on final furlong, not reach leaders
tracked leader, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, driven and edged right when pressed inside final furlong, all out
Brittanic finished second over a mile at Chelmsford last time and drops down a grade while Universal Command finished third to Keswick here in October before scoring over track and trip. Kaser narrowly beat Claire Underwood here recently but the latter will be sharper for that outing while Derek Duval was runner-up over course and distance last time with Kaser, Guvenor's Choice and FAYEZ behind. But the latter is back on a winning mark and, given David O’Meara has sent out three of the last five winners, gets a speculative vote in a wide-open contest.
Fayez (IRE) 50-1 (9-8) Held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, stayed on under pressure on outside final furlong, never reached leaders, 5th of 11, 3 3/4l behind Michele Strogoff (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Brittanic (IRE) 9-1 (8-11) Steadied start, held up in rear, headway on inside over 1f out, chased winner inside final furlong, kept on well, 2nd of 6, 1l behind Breden (9-6) at Chelmsford City 1m hcp (3) pol in Dec.
Keswick 5-1 (8-7) Chased leaders, went 2nd over 5f out until over 2f out, chased leaders, ridden 2f out, soon weakened, last of 9, 21 3/4l behind Greatest Journey (9-5) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (2) pol in Nov.
Guvenor's Choice (IRE) 8-1 (9-5) Mid-division, driven and headway inside final 2f, soon ridden, stayed on to dispute 2nd inside final furlong, no impression with winner, 4th of 11, 3 1/4l behind Michele Strogoff (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Universal Command 3-1 (9-4) In touch, steadied over 8f out, effort over 1f out, unable to get on terms, 5th of 11, 4l behind Villette (9-4) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp (4) pol in Nov.
Cotton Club (IRE) 33-1 (11-9) Held up mid-division, no extra before last, 11th of 16, 24 1/2l behind Gwalia (11-11) at Taunton 2m hcp (4) gd in Dec.
Derek Duval (USA) 14-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, outpaced over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on well under pressure final furlong, took 2nd post, no impression with winner, 2nd of 11, 3l behind Michele Strogoff (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Star Of Southwold (FR) 7-2 (9-2) Tracked leaders, headway to press leader over 4f out, ridden to lead 2f out, headed just inside final furlong, kept on same pace, 3rd of 6, 4 1/4l behind Redicean (9-7) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Blacklooks (IRE) 10-1 (9-9) Slowly away towards rear, headway and in touch halfway, ridden to chase leaders over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 11th of 13, 17 1/4l behind Angel Palanas (9-0) at Southwell 7f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Abel Tasman 11-4fav (9-9) Dwelt soon in touch, ridden and headway entering final furlong, nearest finish, 5th of 14, 1 3/4l behind Etisalat (9-4) at Kempton 1m hcp (5) pol in Oct.
Kaser (IRE) 14-1 (8-11) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, never on terms, lost 2nd post, 3rd of 11, 3 1/4l behind Michele Strogoff (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Blistering Bob 8-1 (9-2) Raced keenly, tracked leaders, driven over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, never on terms, weakened final 100 yards, 8th of 9, 9l behind Saryshagann (9-6) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp (4) pol in Nov.
Claire Underwood (IRE) 8-1 (9-7) Towards rear, wide and headway 2f out, effort entering final furlong, ran on to press winner towards finish, 2nd of 9, 1/2l behind Kaser (9-7) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
