slowly into stride, soon pushed along in mid-division, headway under pressure 2f out, chased leader over 1f out, driven to lead inside final furlong, ran on
chased leaders, challenged 2f out, led over 1f out, headed and not quicken inside final furlong
slowly into stride, towards rear, effort and carried head high over 1f out, kept on reluctantly to take 3rd inside final furlong
chased leader to 2f out, weakened quickly over 1f out
slowly into stride, held up in rear, ran on final furlong, not pace to reach leaders
raced wide in mid-division, pushed along halfway, behind final 2f
close up, hard ridden 2f out, weakened over 1f out
reared start, soon chased leaders, hard ridden 2f out, weakened quickly over 1f out, eased when no chance final furlong
in touch, hard ridden 2f out, one pace and no impression leaders over 1f out
raced freely, led and soon clear, headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up in rear, kept on under pressure final furlong, never dangerous
always in rear, never a factor
This is a cracking handicap and we have narrowed it down to Russian Symphony, Blythe Spirit and Million Percent, with the first named just having the edge.Charlie Egerton's four-year-old was most impressive when landing a Wolverhampton handicap back in December and hasn't been disgraced since. His most recent outing was also at the midlands track when an excellent second behind Night Air and a repeat of that effort should be good enough here. Blythe Spirit has been knocking on the door at Wolverhampton and Southwell recently, but his best performance came here in October when chasing home Moayed, he must have every chance of reaching the frame. Meanwhile Million Percent finished just behind Smokin Joe at Lingfield back in December and gets in here on a decent mark. Thurlestone Rock could prove best of the remainder, but Russian Symphony looks the class act and is taken to regain the winning thread
Russian Symphony (USA) 4-1 Held up, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on close home, 2nd of 9, 1 1/2l behind Night Air at W'hampton 7f hcp (D2) pol in Jan.
Roman Maze 14-1 Prominent, joined leaders 2f out, every chance final furlong, no extra towards finish, 3rd of 13, 1l behind Mr Lambros at Lingfield 7f hcp (D2) pol in Jan.
Blythe Spirit 14-1 Chased leaders, ridden halfway, hung left from over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 9, 3l behind Little Ridge at Southwell 5f hcp (D2) fbs in Jan.
Million Percent 5-1 Held up, headway to lead over 1f out, hard ridden final furlong, headed towards finish, 2nd of 12, 1l behind Smokin Joe at Lingfield 6f hcp (E3) pol in Dec.
Thurlestone Rock 20-1 Prominent, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out, 8th of 12, 4 1/2l behind Waterside at Lingfield 7f hcp (D2) pol in Jan.
Silent Storm 6-1 Led, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 12, 9l behind Fiddlers Creek at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp (D2) pol in Jan.
Petardias Magic (IRE) 4-1jt-fav Held up in touch, ridden and kept on from over 1f out, not pace to challenge, 7th of 11, 2l behind Mandarin Spirit at Lingfield 6f stk (E3) pol in Jan.
Double M 10-1 Held up in rear, good headway over 1f out, ran on final furlong to lead on line, won at Lingfield 7f hcp (E3) pol in Jan beating Quantum Leap by a shd, 14 ran.
