always prominent, led 3 out, soon clear, not fluent last
held up in touch, ridden 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, effort 3 out, keeping on under pressure when not fluent last
held up in rear, raced keenly, ridden 3 out, kept on under pressure, no chance with winner
soon led, mistake 2nd, ridden 4 out, headed next, soon faded
We'll take Lyceum to upset Elusive Dream with Zilcash the only other to consider. Elusive Dream ran a shocker on his penultimate start but that race at Cheltenham was run in atrocious conditions on very testing ground. He produced a far better effort at Newbury last time but was still no match for Souffleur. It could be that this better ground will bring about plenty of improvement but he has yet to convince. The trouble is there's little in the way of opposition. Zilcash is too high in the weights for handicapping and this represents a better opportunity for him but he was a long way behind Elusive Dream at Newbury and place money is the best that he can expect. That leaves Dessie Hughes's Supreme Novices entry, Lyceum. He's disappointed a couple of times this winter but won very easily here last time and has bits and pieces of form to his name, such as his third to Aitmatov in October, that suggest he could lay down a challenge to the favourite; so we'll take Lyceum to cause an upset.
Elusive Dream 9-2 (11-7) Mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, ridden to chase winner after 2 out, no further impression, 2nd of 9, 6l behind Souffleur (11-7) at Newbury 2m 5f nov hdl Grd 1 (1) sft in Dec.
Lyceum (GER) 9-4 (11-8) Tracked leading pair, went 2nd approaching 4 out, led on bit, 2 out, soon pushed clear, very easily, won at Ascot 2m 3f nov hdl (3) gf in Dec beating Prince De Bersy (11-8) by 6l, 5 ran.
Zilcash 16-1 (11-11) Tracked leaders, ridden 3 out, weakened approaching last, 8th of 14, 19l behind Backbord (10-5) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp hdl (2) gd.
Busker Royal 5-2fav (11-0) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, beaten over 2f out, 4th of 11, 22l behind The Old Pretender (11-0) at Huntingdon 2m nhf (5) hvy in Jan.
Mister Wiseman 80-1 (10-5) Chased leader, led briefly approaching 6th, led approaching 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, headed soon after, kept on one pace flat, 3rd of 10, 10l behind Hills Of Aran (10-12) at Wincanton 2m 6f nov hdl (4) gd in Oct.
