held up, pushed along halfway, soon ridden, kept on same pace, not trouble leaders
held up mid-division, ridden over 1f out, one pace
led, ridden over 1f out, soon headed, one pace
held up, headway over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, just held
slowly into stride, held up, ridden over 3f out, headway well over 1f out, kept on
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
reared start, behind, effort halfway, no impression
took keen hold, tracked leaders, ridden to lead 1f out, held on towards finish
A competitive finale in which The Illies gets our vote ahead of Ekhtiaar and Eddie Jock. Barry Hills' colt has landed two big field, competitive and valuable handicaps in July and August and now goes for a third successive win. Whilst he has been handed a 6lb rise in the weights by the handicapper, he comes here in top form and assuming that there is a strong pace, then this hold-up performer should go well once again. There doesn't appear to an awful lot of pace here so it may be that Eddie Jock makes the pace and if he is allowed a soft lead, then he may prove hard to peg back although he does need to bounce back from a couple of below-par efforts. Ekhtiaar likes quick ground and may appreciate this smaller field than last time out at the track, however he is held by Eddie Jock on their running back in June. Humungous is hit and miss but does have plenty of ability, whilst Mine needs a strong gallop, preferably in a large field, and that appears unlikely here. Rio Riva and Flipando are two more to consider but will need luck from the rear, and so we will return to The Illies to complete the hat-trick.
Mine (IRE) 16-1 (9-5) Held up towards rear, headway 2f out, driven over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, 4th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Duff (9-0) at York 7f lst stk (1) gd in Aug.
Vortex 25-1 (9-7) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, behind when badly hampered over 1f out, virtually pulled up, 15th of 19, well behind Third Set (8-4) at Goodwood 1m hcap (2) gf in Aug.
Eddie Jock (IRE) 8-1 (9-0) Led after 2f, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon beaten, eased final furlong, last of 9, 16l behind Dubai's Touch (9-4) at Goodwood 1m 3yo lst stk (1) gf in Aug.
Metropolitan Man 16-1 (9-2) Held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, stayed on, 4th of 9, 2l behind Harvest Queen (9-0) at Haydock 1m lst stk (1) gf.
Humungous (IRE) 10-1 (9-13) Prominent, effort when edged right over 2f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong, 11th of 18, 8l behind The Illies (8-3) at York 1m hcp 0-105 (2) gd in Aug.
Rio Riva 9-2 (8-9) Held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 6, 6l behind Pride of Nation (8-9) at York 1m stk (3) hvy in Jul.
Flipando (IRE) 14-1 (9-9) Towards rear, ridden along 3f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, 7th of 18, 4 1/2l behind The Illies (8-3) at York 1m hcp 0-105 (2) gd in Aug.
The Illies (IRE) 5-1fav (8-3) Held up, headway 2f out, driven over 1f out, ran on to lead entering final furlong, kept on gamely, won at York 1m hcp 0-105 (2) gd in Aug beating Docofthebay (8-13) by 1 1/2l, 18 ran.
Ekhtiaar 7-2fav (9-1) Mid-division, headway 2f out, every chance entering final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 19, nk behind Webbow (8-13) at Doncaster 1m hcp 0-95 (3) gf in Aug.
