held up towards rear, good headway to lead on stand rail 3f out, driven and hard pressed final furlong, stayed on gamely
slowly into stride, held up last pair, pushed along 5f out, struggling and no chance final 3f
headway to press leader 10f out, weakening when hampered over 2f out
keen hold and mid-division, pushed along 4f out, weakened over 2f out
held up in last pair, driven and headway 2f out, chased winner and closed gamely throughout final furlong, just failed
held up towards rear, ridden and headway on outside over 2f out, chased leader and one pace final furlong
close up in 4th until weakened 3f out
held up in mid-division, weakening when hampered over 2f out
mid-division, stayed on same pace final 2f
slowly into stride, held up in rear, driven and struggling final 3f
tracked leaders, challenged from 3f out, soon ridden and hung right, weakened and eased final furlong
in touch, headway to press winner from 3f out, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
led to 3f out, weakened over 2f out
A fascinating handicap and we will take a chance with Red Damson, with Turnstile and Sergeant Cecil also expected to be involved in the finish. Sir Mark Prescott generally starts firing in the winners at this time of year, and he has no problems having them ready on their seasonal bows. Red Damson is relatively lightly raced and didn't finish out of the first two last season. His final outing when chasing home Leg Spinner at Kempton was a fine effort and a repeat of that run off today's mark should be good enough. Seageant Cecil hit winning form at Newcastle in the Northumberland Plate last time out. The drop in trip shouldn't be a problem as he has performed with credit over a mile and a half. Meanwhile Turnstile comes into the argument on his recent easy victory over Marias Magic in a decent race at Hamilton. Best of the others could be the well treated Larkwing, but Red Damson looks the pick of the weights this afternoon and gets our vote.
Golden Quest 7-1 (8-11) Tracked leaders, led 4f out, ridden when headed inside final furlong, 2nd of 13, 1 1/2l behind High Action (9-2) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-105 (2) pol.
Big Moment 20-1 (9-1) Held up last, ridden 3f out, headway 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 4th of 7, 11l behind Shabernak (8-12) at Sandown 2m lst stk (1) gf.
First Ballot (IRE) 16-1 (9-0) Driven to lead after 1f, headed 2f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 16, 5l behind Fight Your Corner (9-0) at Sandown 2m Grp 2 (1) gd in May.
Swift Sailor 10-1 (9-3) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, headway 2f out, hung left over 1f out, kept on, 3rd of 13, 2l behind High Action (9-2) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-105 (2) pol.
Balkan Knight 16-1 (8-7) Mid-division, headway 4f out, ridden to chase leaders 2f out, stayed on final furlong, 6th of 20, 3 1/2l behind Sergeant Cecil (8-8) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gd in Jun.
Sergeant Cecil 14-1 (8-8) Held up, headway on inside over 3f out, not clear run and switched right over 1f out, ridden to lead final furlong, stayed on well, won at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gd in Jun beating Tungsten Strike (9-1) by 1 1/2l, 20 ran.
Vaughan 7-1 (8-13) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, no headway, 9th of 15, 6l behind Zeitgeist (8-10) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (2) gf.
Star Member (IRE) 50-1 (8-10) Slowly into stride, always behind, 14th of 20, 10l behind Sergeant Cecil (8-8) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gd in Jun.
Larkwing (IRE) 7-2 (9-5) Held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 2 furlong out, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 11, 10l behind Far Pavilions (9-7) at Musselburgh 1m 6f hcp (3) gd in May.
Pagan Dance (IRE) 40-1 (8-8) Slowly into stride, always behind, 15th of 20, 14l behind Sergeant Cecil (8-8) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gd in Jun.
Red Damson (IRE) 8-1 (9-10) Led, ridden and headed well over 1f out, pressed winner inside final furlong, no extra close home, 2nd of 13, hd behind Leg Spinner (9-4) at Kempton 1m 6f 3yo hcp (D2) gf in Sept.
Camrose 7-1 (8-7) Close up, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside last, 8th of 15, 5l behind Zeitgeist (8-10) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (2) gf.
Peak of Perfection (IRE) 9-2fav (8-9) Led, ridden 4f out, soon headed and weakened, 12th of 13, 29l behind High Action (9-2) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-105 (2) pol.
Turnstile 11-4jt-fav (10-0) Led 5f, tracked leader, led again over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon clear, readily, won at Hamilton 1m 5f hcp (4) gf beating Marias Magic (9-9) by 3 1/2l, 6 ran.
