held up in rear, ridden and headway entering final furlong, ran on to take 2nd final strides
dwelt, held up, ridden over 2f out, driven and kept on towards finish, never nearer
slowly into stride, raced in last place, ridden and headway 2f out, stayed on under strong pressure towards finish
held up in rear, ridden and headway 2f out, led approaching final furlong, ran on
led, joined over 3f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out
held up, effort on inside over 1f out, driven to chase winner inside final furlong, lost 2nd final strides
took keen hold, held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, short of room and snatched up approaching final furlong, driven and stayed on towards finish
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
headway on outer to join leader over 3f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out
tracked leader, led going well over 1f out, soon headed, ridden, found little, weakened inside final furlong
STRABOE is suggested ahead of Kingsgate Castle and Sovereignty although market support would be encouraging. The selection had shown precious little in his first five career starts but landed something of a gamble at Yarmouth in August for which he has been raised by 6lbs. Plenty has to be taken on trust as he has his first run on the all-weather but he has few miles on the clock and returns at a time when his yard is going well. Kingsgate Castle came with a well timed run to score on his first outing since October and the requisite claim is offset, in part, by his apprentice's claim. He's entitled to go well but that was just the second success of his 23 race career. Sovereignty is well handicapped and has a decent track record and he may be able to post an improved performance now that he's fitted with cheekpieces and reunited with Jim Crowley. In truth, few are comfortably dismissed but market confidence behind our selection Straboe could be ominous for the rest.
Kingsgate Castle 3-1fav (9-0) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden to lead 1f out, ran on, won at Kempton 6f stks 0-55 (6) pol beating Nativity (8-11) by 1 1/4l, 10 ran.
Sovereignty (JPN) 25-1 (8-13) Held up in rear, came wide into straight, some headway final furlong but never in contention, 7th of 9, 5l behind Trade Centre (9-4) at Lingfield 7f sell stks (6) pol.
Strategic Mover (USA) 66-1 (9-11) Tracked leaders, under pressure over 2f out, soon weakened, 9th of 10, 38l behind Desert Vision (10-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f Amateur Handicap (0-75) (3yo+) (5) pol.
Valentino Swing (IRE) 50-1 (8-10) Always in rear, last of 10, 12l behind Istiqdaam (9-4) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp (0-65) (6) pol.
Monte Cassino (IRE) 20-1 (8-12) In rear and outpaced, 8th of 11, 7l behind Forever's Girl (9-4) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp (0-65) (6) pol in Nov.
Pinball (IRE) 10-1 (8-10) In rear, ridden over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, 4th of 8, 1 1/4l behind Spinning Bailiwick (10-0) at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Golden Dixie (USA) 11-2 (9-1) In rear, ridden and some headway over 1f out, never dangerous, 6th of 12, 7l behind Thoughtsofstardom (8-11) at Southwell 5f hcp (6) fbs.
Hart of Gold 11-1 (8-12) Prominent, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 10, 8l behind Divine Force (9-0) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Megalo Maniac 9-1 (8-13) Raced wide in mid-division, pushed along 3f out, weakened well over 1f out, 10th of 12, 13l behind Philmack Dot Com (8-13) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Mr Rio (IRE) 33-1 (8-8) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, no extra final furlong, 5th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Misaro (9-7) at Kempton 6f clm stks (6) pol in Nov.
Straboe (USA) 11-1 (8-2) Made all, ridden over 2f out, hung right and driven out final furlong, won at Yarmouth 6f mdn hcap 0-65 (6) gd in Aug beating Dance Club (9-5) by 2l, 12 ran.
Miss Firefly 8-1 (8-9) Mid-division, not much room and lost place over 2f out, headway on inside when not clear run and hampered over 1f out, never able to challenge, 8th of 11, 3l behind Only A Game (8-13) at Lingfield 6f hcp (6) pol.
