keen hold, held up in rear, headway on wide outside over 1f out, ran on well inside final furlong
in touch, effort over 1f out, led entering final furlong, ridden clear
chased leaders until weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, behind, headway on inside over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong
led for 1f, pressed leader to over 1f out, weakened final furlong
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
soon in touch, ran on to go 2nd final 100 yards, no impression
led after 1f, ridden 2f out, headed entering final furlong, no extra
held up, effort and not clear run briefly over 1f out, ridden and ran on inside final furlong
The drop back to the minimum trip should suit Whitbarrow, who can confirm his superiority over Native Title, while Namir and Edged In Gold can also be considered as being dangerous to rule out at this level. Edged In Gold won a handicap off 54 at Wolverhampton last summer and is effective at her own level. She has been running well of late and is no forlorn hope from the foot of the handicap. Conversely, Namir struggled with the handicapper last season and failed to sparkle as a result. However, he is now on a more realistic mark and, as he ran a good race on his only previous visit to Lingfield, a bold bid cannot be ruled out from him today. Watch the betting where he is concerned. Native Title - a previous winner of the Ayr Silver Cup - has been a grand servant to the David Nicholls yard and should again be capable of getting competitive now that he has proved his fitness. Nevertheless, he does appear to be better over an extra furlong and needs everything to drop just right for him. Therefore, we turn to Whitbarrow on this occasion. It seems an eternity since this fellow won the Group Three Molecomb Stakes as a juvenile and his winning form has been thin on the ground since then. However, he is now on his lowest career rating and would be absolutely thrown in, should he be able recapture any of his old sparkle. Tony Carroll is a very adept trainer with a horse of his type and, with the return to five furlongs absolutely ideal, this could finally be the day that everything falls right from Whitbarrow once more.
Namir (IRE) 12-1 (9-4) Behind, ridden over 2f out, stayed on approaching final furlong, no impression, 8th of 13, 3 1/2l behind Monte Major (8-4) at W'hampton 5f hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Native Title 7-2fav (9-3) Slowly into stride, headway over 3f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 13, 2 1/2l behind Graze On (9-3) at W'hampton 6f clm (6) pol in Jan.
Whitbarrow (IRE) 10-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden and weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 12, 6l behind Saviours Spirit (8-13) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jan.
Goose Chase 66-1 (8-7) Led to over 5f out, tracked leader to over 2f out, soon weakened, 9th of 11, 12l behind Northern Desert (9-4) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-80 (4) pol.
He's A Rocket (IRE) 8-1 (9-2) Soon led, ridden and headed just over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 6th of 13, 2l behind Henry Tun (9-2) at W'hampton 5f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Global Achiever 14-1 (9-0) Took keen hold on outer, always behind, 12th of 13, 9l behind Captain Darling (8-9) at Lingfield 7f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Lady Bahia (IRE) 16-1 (9-1) Soon led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened final furlong, 12th of 13, 12l behind Majestical (9-0) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Edged In Gold 20-1 (9-2) Held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, ran on inside final furlong, 5th of 13, 1 1/2l behind Henry Tun (9-2) at W'hampton 5f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
