held up in close 5th, ridden on outside 3f out, weakened 2f out
tracked leading trio on inside, tracked leading pair going well 3f out, led 2f out, clear over 1f out, stayed on strongly, ridden out
led, joined approaching 8f out, ridden and headed 2f out, no chance with winner when weakened to 3rd final 150 yards
chased leader until approaching 8f out, close up until ridden inside final 4f, weakened inside final 3f, tailed off
awkward leaving stalls and slowly away, held up last, headway on inside to 3rd 2f out, stayed on to 2nd final 150 yards, no chance with easy winner
Nonrunner
Taaresh and Roilos are hard to fancy but the remaining five can all be given a chance of sorts. The Winged Assasin, Archie Rice and Maison Brillet arrive in fine form but are all stepping up in class whereas Al Amaan moves in the opposite direction having finished a creditable third in better company here last time. However, ENCIRCLED could prove the value. It's been a long time since she last won but she's well handicapped on her best form and John Jenkins' mare caught the eye making good progress before running out of steam over 1m3f here in December.
Encircled 8-1 (9-7) Held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on same pace from over 1f out, unable to challenge, 4th of 9, 4l behind Pittodrie Star (8-10) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
Taaresh (IRE) 4-1fav (9-7) Held up, headway over 3f out, ridden and weakened 2f out, 10th of 13, 18l behind Scamperdale (8-12) at Leicester 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Jun.
Al Amaan 7-2 (8-12) Tracked leader and keen, ridden and every chance entering final furlong, no extra and lost place towards finish, 3rd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Porgy (9-4) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Archie Rice (USA) 2-1fav (9-10) Led, set steady pace until quickened over 3f out, driven and headed approaching final furlong, one pace closing stages, 2nd of 9, 4 1/2l behind Beaubrav (9-9) at Lingfield 1m 4f hacp 0-70 (5) pol.
The Winged Assasin (USA) 7-1 (9-10) Chased leader, led over 2f out, stayed on until headed well inside final furlong, 2nd of 6, 1/2l behind Rhythm Stick (9-6) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Roilos (IRE) 16-1 (8-13) Held up in mid-division in 6th, headway on outer over 5f out, pushed along over 3f out, lost place over 1f out, last of 10, 10l behind Officer In Command (9-4) at Lingfield 1m 2f clm stks (6) pol in Dec.
Maison Brillet (IRE) 25-1 (9-7) Held up behind, steady headway over 2f out, ridden 1f out, led inside final furlong, stayed on, won at Kempton 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Dec beating Wasara (9-1) by 2 1/4l, 10 ran.
