tracked winner 2f, remained close up, hung right inside final furlong, kept on towards finish
raced keenly, held up in touch, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
always prominent, tracked winner after 2f, ridden over 1f out, unable to quicken towards finish
made all, ridden and hung right from over 1f out, ran on
pulled hard, held up, ridden over 2f out, hung right and weakened over 1f ot
held up, ridden over 2f out, soon beaten
Welsh Emperor is best in at the weights in this conditions contest and he gets the nod ahead of Fajr and Prince Forever. Tom Tate's eight-year-old has been in decent form this season without getting the head in front and this proven Group class performer is fancied to score. He is effective on soft ground and with a decent strike-rate, this bargain buy is fancied to oblige. Prince Forever looks an interesting opponent; Michael Jarvis's son of Giant's Causeway has proven himself on various ground and after just three runs he must be respected, especially as he is likely to have improved for his run in May. Raptor needs to bounce back from a poor run but is capable on his day, whilst Fajr ideally wants a bigger field but Gay Kellaway's runner mustn't be overlooked coming back from a mini-break. At a price Babodana or Elhamri could bounce back to form but both have plenty to find on the figures, and so we will return to Welsh Emperor as the nomination.
Babodana 80-1 (8-12) Prominent, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, 32nd of 34, 33l behind Pipedreamer (8-12) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcap (2) gf.
Fajr (IRE) 14-1 (9-7) Held up, headway over 2f out, hung right over 1f out, soon hampered and beaten, 16th of 18, 8l behind Giganticus (8-8) at Newmarket 7f hcap (2) gf in Jul.
Raptor (GER) 40-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, effort and edged right 2f out, kept on one pace, 12th of 34, 7l behind Pipedreamer (8-12) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcap (2) gf.
Welsh Emperor (IRE) 33-1 (9-2) Tracked winner throughout, ran on same pace final 2f, 2nd of 13, 2 1/2l behind Toylsome (9-2) at Longchamp 7f Grp 1 (1) sft.
Elhamri 33-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 13th of 16, 6l behind Indian Trail (9-7) at Haydock 5f hcap (2) gf in Sept.
Penny Glitters 40-1 (9-4) Slowly into stride, always towards rear, 11th of 13, 15l behind Sion Hill (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 1f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Sept.
Prince Forever (IRE) 8-1 (9-0) Led, keen early, headed just over 1f out, no extra, 3rd of 6, 1 1/2l behind Tariq (9-0) at Newmarket 7f 3yo lst stk (1) gf in May.
Kompete 50-1 (8-1) Mid-division, ridden and lost place over 3f out, 22nd of 26, 13l behind Damika (9-0) at Newmarket 7f hcp 0-100 (2) sft.
