held up towards rear, headway approaching 2f out, ridden to press winner well inside final furlong, edged left towards finish, stayed on but always held by winner
held up in rear, headway on inside entering final 2f, driven to lead inside final furlong, soon pressed, held on gamely
tracked leaders, chased leader 4f out, led 3f out, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened final furlong
in touch, ridden to lead narrowly 2f out, soon headed, driven and weakened inside final furlong
led after 1f, ridden and headed 3f out, weakened 2f out
held up, headway to track leaders over 2f out, good run on inside to lead entering final 2f, headed inside final furlong, not much room when held towards finish
raced wide, held up, ridden 4f out, effort on outer 3f out, weakened 2f out
led, hung right after 1f and soon headed, chased leader until 4f out, lost place from 3f out
Back over ten furlongs TRAPHALGAR may be hard to beat in a race where Full Toss and Awatuki are also considered. Despite not being the best treated at the weights in this claimer, the selection is likely to make a bold bid. Kieren Fallon looks an interesting jockey booking for Ollie Pears' gelding and he comes here in good form after a good second to Lyra's Daemon at Wolverhampton. Full Toss is rated 85 and he takes a big drop in class today; a two month break may have freshened him up however he is yet to fully prove that this is his ideal trip. Awatuki has some solid all-weather form to his name and he wasn't in bad nick when last seen at Brighton in October. Painted Sky is another to consider given his shrewd connections and official rating of 70. He was well-held over hurdles when last seen in May but may be happier back on the level and only the brave or foolish would dismiss his chances. Dream Of Fortune and Kings Topic both run the track well and are the only other horses in the line-up to take seriously, however it is Traphalgar who can prosper.
Traphalgar (IRE) 8-1 (9-8) Held up well in rear in slowly run race, ridden and headway entering final 2f, chased winner 1f out, kept on, 2nd of 9, 2l behind Lyra's Daemon (8-11) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Full Toss 13-2 (8-8) Held up, improved to 4th 6f out to over 1f out, driven, carried slightly left inside final furlong, kept on, 3rd of 6, 2 3/4l behind Honimiere (8-11) at Newmarket 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-100 (2) gf in Sep.
Awatuki (IRE) 5-1 (9-9) Chased leader until 2f out, chased leading pair after, ridden over 1f out, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 11, 3 1/2l behind Hector Spectre (9-0) at Brighton 1m 2f sell hcp 0-60 (6) gd in Oct.
Painted Sky 4-1fav (9-3) Mid-division and outside, outpaced over 3f out, no danger after, 10th of 14, 8l behind Summer Gold (9-1) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp (4) gf in May '08.
Artreju (GER) 40-1 (9-7) Held up, headway on outer to go in touch 6f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 9th of 13, 16l behind Moonshine Creek (10-7) at Lingfield 1m 4f Amateur Handicap (0-70) (3yo+) (5) pol in Nov.
Dream of Fortune (IRE) 9-2 (9-6) Held up in rear, ridden over 3f out, headway 2f out, stayed on to go 3rd final furlong, not reach leaders, 3rd of 15, 5l behind Doubnov (9-6) at Lingfield 1m 4f sell stks (6) pol in Nov.
Kings Topic (USA) 20-1 (9-7) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 11th of 14, 6l behind Marmooq (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (0-65) (6) pol in Nov.
Boffin 16-1 (8-11) In touch, weakened over 2f out, 12th of 16, 11l behind Recalcitrant (9-6) at Chepstow 1m 2f hcp 0-55 (6) gd in Sep.
