tracked leading pair, driven to chase winner 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong
held up well in rear, headway on inside 2f out, effort inside final furlong, weakened towards finish
held up towards rear, one pace final 2f, never reached challenging position
with leader, narrow lead over 6f out, headed approaching 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in touch, headway on wide outside over 3f out, led approaching 2f out, stayed on well
in touch, ridden and weakened over 3f out
held up towards rear, ridden 4f out, soon struggling
chased leaders, ridden 4f out, weakened quickly
reared start, held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, stayed on inside final furlong
held up in rear, headway over 3f out, kept on under pressure inside final furlong
narrow lead until headed over 6f out, pressed leader until approaching 2f out, weakened over 1f out
The short list here contains Santando, Escayola and Turn n' Burn, with the vote going to Santando. Santando made the best of a falling mark to score at Wolverhampton last time and, well handicapped on his best form, connections have elected to run him under a penalty and he has to be respected. Escayola is well-weighted based on 2004 and earlier form and showed a little more promise last time although he is hard to win with at the moment. You can build the case for Mersey Sound based on his best Turf efforts, while Takafu has something to prove from a revised mark, and Archduke Ferdinand just has something to prove now. Turn 'n Burn has not had too much racing this year and is open to improvement at today's trip, so watch the betting, while Profitable disappointed on his handicap debut and needs to build on that. All of which returns us to the selection, which is Santando.
Maystock 12-1 (9-6) Held up in touch, headway over 4f out, led over 1f out, ridden out, won at Bath 2m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Sept beating Synonymy (7-12) by 3/4l, 12 ran.
Escayola (IRE) 9-2 (10-0) In touch, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, soon hung left, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 8, 2l behind Numero Due (10-1) at Chester 2m hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Sept.
Mersey Sound (IRE) 10-1 (9-0) Held up behind, ridden 4f out, no headway, never dangerous, 8th of 12, 10l behind Stoop To Conquer (9-4) at Newbury 1m 5f hcp 0-90 (3) gd in Aug.
Takafu (USA) 10-1 (9-7) In touch, progress 7f out, ridden 4f out, faded final furlong, 3rd of 12, 3l behind Maystock (9-6) at Bath 2m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Sept.
Archduke Ferdinand (FR) 13-2 (8-9) Held up behind, ridden over 3f out, never dangerous, 8th of 12, 11l behind Prins Willem (9-4) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-90 (3) pol in Jul.
Santando 10-1 (9-10) Held up, headway well over 2f out, soon edged left, led well over 1f out, soon hung left but ridden clear, eased near finish, won at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol beating The Violin Player (9-11) by 1 1/2l, 12 ran.
Profitable 17-2 (9-3) Keen, held up, ridden and headway 3f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 9, 13l behind All The Good (9-7) at Newmarket 1m 6f 3yo hcp (4) gd in Sept.
Billich 10-1 (8-6) Held up in rear, ridden 4f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 7, 7l behind Dream Champion (8-7) at Folkestone 1m 4f 3yo hcp (3) gf in Sept.
