held up in rear, pushed along halfway, ridden and weakened over 1f out
held up in rear, plenty to do 2f out, wide into straight well over 1f out, soon hung left, kept on final furlong, never near leaders
chased leader, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, headed just inside final furlong, no extra
chased leaders, ridden to lead just inside final furlong, driven and caught post
held up in touch, headway and switched right approaching final furlong, strong run to lead post
led, ridden and headed approaching final furlong, soon one pace
dwelt, soon chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened well over 1f out
Taken should pick up the prize with Royal Applord and Safebreaker the obvious alternatives. Taken does not appear to be the most straight forward of rides but the form of his victory at Wolverhampton looks to be pretty sizeable in the context of this contest and he is likely to be priced accordingly. Royal Applord won a weak maiden at Southwell and may have it to prove after a below par effort last time out. Safebreaker is often installed at short prices and this sometime front runner is likely to have plenty pressing as they come inside the final furlong. Rockfield Tiger was held on handicap introduction. Segal looks as if he has needed a fair degree of time to grow into his frame and cannot be ignored if the market speaks in his favour. Taken produced a taking performance last time out and if able to build upon it, he sets a fair benchmark.
Safebreaker 5-4fav (9-4) Tracked leaders, hampered over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, hard ridden, stayed on, 2nd of 4, 1l behind Especially (8-12) at Southwell 1m 3yo hcp (5) fbs in Jan.
Taken (IRE) 4-6fav (8-9) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, led final furlong, pushed out, won at W'hampton 7f mdn stk (5) pol in Jan beating Kibitzer (8-9) by 1l, 8 ran.
Royal Applord 16-1 (9-0) Held up, pushed along over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, ran on, 3rd of 5, 1 1/2l behind Fathsta (9-1) at W'hampton 7f 3yo hcp (4) pol in Jan.
Segal (IRE) 4-1 (9-0) Held up mid-division, headway to chase leaders over 2f out, soon ridden, outpaced and awkward over 1f out, ran on towards finish, 2nd of 13, nk behind Wasan (9-0) at Lingfield 7f 2yo mdn (5) pol in Nov.
Rockfield Tiger (IRE) 12-1 (9-3) Ridden towards rear 3f out, plugged on final furlong, no danger, 6th of 10, 6l behind City of The Kings (9-3) at Kempton 1m 2yo mdn (4) pol in Aug.
Easy Wonder (GER) 2-1fav (8-7) Chased leader, ridden over 2f out, led inside final furlong, ran on, won at W'hampton 6f 2yo mdn auc (6) pol in Nov beating Young Ivanhoe (9-0) by 1l, 8 ran.
Hollow Point (IRE) 7-1 (9-2) Led, ridden over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, 3rd of 6, 1 1/2l behind Bury Treasure (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp (6) pol in Jan.
