keen close up, ridden and no impression 2f out, driven and ran on inside final furlong, not reach winner
in rear, ridden and headweay over 1f out, kept on near finish
in rear, kept on final furlong, never near leaders
held up in rear, good headway to track winner 2f out, soon ridden, no extra inside final furlong and lost 3 places
tracked leaders, led over 2f out, ridden 2 lengths clear over 1f out, stayed on (hand-timed)
mid-division, headway to track leaders over 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace final furlong
towards rear, pushed along over 4f out, hung badly right over 3f out, soon weakened
led 2f, tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out
led after 2f, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
After winning a decent contest at Newmarket in September, Golden Desert has been well beaten in a couple of handicaps since. He has to give 5lb to MAHADEE on today's terms and that could prove beyond him. The latter is not the most consistent either but a repeat of last month's third at Goodwood would be good enough to land this. The aforementioned pair are well clear on official ratings, which leaves Child Bride something to find on her return to action, while last week's Wolverhampton winner Faithful Ruler is preferred to Tiradito of the remainder.
Golden Desert (IRE) 33-1 (9-2) Raced center, chased leaders, weakened over 1f out, 16th of 29, 9l behind Edinburgh Knight (9-6) at Ascot 7f Apprentice Handicap (0-100) (3yo+) (2) gd in Oct.
Tiradito (USA) 25-1 (9-1) Held up towards rear, ridden over 1f out, never a factor, 8th of 12, 8l behind Gritstone (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Oct.
Mahadee (IRE) 22-1 (9-1) Always about same place in mid-division, driven on inside over 2f out, no progress, 8th of 15, 10l behind Fantasy Gladiator (9-1) at Nottingham 1m hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Oct.
Faithful Ruler (USA) 11-1 (9-7) Took keen hold, chased leaders, going well on inside 2f out, squeezed through over 1f out, led approaching final furlong, ridden and ran on well, won at Wolverhampton 7f sell stks (6) pol beating One Way Or Another (8-8) by 1 3/4l, 11 ran.
City Legend 16-1 (9-0) Held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakend final furlong, last of 8, 14l behind Numeral (9-7) at Kempton 7f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Cristaliyev 40-1 (8-8) Always behind, 9th of 13, 7l behind Russian Ice (9-2) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Dream Express (IRE) 80-1 (8-0) Chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened, 13th of 17, 8l behind El Dececy (8-13) at Bath 6f hcp 0-58 (6) gd in Oct.
Majestical (IRE) 100-1 (8-1) Chased leaders on inside, weakened 2f out, 11th of 13, 13l behind Scarlet Rocks (8-2) at Windsor 6f clm stks (6) gf in Oct.
Child Bride 5-1 (8-10) Slowly into stride, behind headway over 1f out, ran on, never reached winner, 2nd of 11, 2 3/4l behind First Class Favour (9-2) at Catterick 7f 2yo fll hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Oct '10.
Athenian Garden (USA) 10-11fav (9-0) Chased leaders, pushed along over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 6th of 10, 6l behind He's Invincible (9-0) at Kempton 7f 3yo stks 0-70 (5) pol in Apr '10.
Finefrenzyrolling (IRE) 13-2 (8-8) Held up in touch, chased leaders over 1f out, never on terms, 5th of 11, 5l behind Daruband (9-5) at Lingfield 1m 3yo clm stks (6) pol.
