keen in touch, ridden and weakened over 2f out
tracked leader, led over 8f out, headed over 3f out, ridden and every chance from over 2f out, unable to quicken inside final furlong
pulled hard, raced wide mid-division, headway over 4f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed and one pace inside final furlong
close up, chased leader over 6f out, ridden and weakened over 3f out
held up mid-division, pushed along and headway 2f out, led inside final furlong, stayed on
soon led, headed over 8f out, remained prominent, led again over 3f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
keen towards rear, ridden and some headway 4f out, weakened 3f out
in rear, ridden over 3f out, no impression
mid-division, ridden 3f out, kept on, never nearer
slowly into stride, in rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on to go 4th inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 3f out
taken to post early, slow into stride, raced wide mid-division, headway to go 4th over 3f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out
A modest contest which presents DONTPAYTHEFERRYMAN with a good chance to get off the mark on the Flat; Ramvaswani and York Cliff make the most appeal from the remainder. The last named is a standing dish in events of this nature and can usually be relied upon to run his race. Sadly, that scenario usually ends in a gallant defeat and, with just seven wins from 93 starts; his limitations are there for all to see. Ramvaswani has an abundance of stamina and it may be simply a case of switching racing codes brings about a revival in his fortunes. Quite whether this trip (1m, 3f) will be an adequate test for him remains to be seen, though. Bright Sparky is another that is more accustomed to jumping of late, but he has experience of this course; so a market move in his direction would be noteworthy. However, Dontpaytheferryman is a more accomplished performer for a race like this and, as his confidence will be on a high after a winning spin over timber at Chepstow last month, the Alan Dickman-trained gelding looks a safer option for the time being.
Top Jaro (FR) 28-1 (10-11) Steadied start, pulled hard in rear, never near leaders, 7th of 13, 25l behind Sabancaya (10-7) at Southwell 1m 6f amt hcp (6) fbs in Jan.
Ramvaswani (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Start slowly, soon in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened quickly over 1f out, 12th of 14, 17l behind Schinken Otto (10-11) at Kempton 1m 3f amt hcp (6) pol in Jan '08.
Dontpaytheferryman (USA) 5-2fav (8-9) Held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, led over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 3rd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Safin (8-9) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Jan.
York Cliff 12-1 (10-13) Behind, headway over 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, never able to challenge, 4th of 12, 2 1/2l behind Corlough Mountain (10-5) at Kempton 1m 4f amt hcp (6) pol in Jan.
Bright Sparky (GER) 5-1 (8-4) In touch, ridden 4f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 8, 13l behind Mandalay Prince (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Jan '08.
Reprieved 12-1 (8-8) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, headway and hung left over 2f out, weakened 1f out, 4th of 12, 13l behind Mr Fantozzi (9-0) at Southwell 1m 3yo hcp (6) fbs in Jul.
Shenandoah Girl 20-1 (8-6) Chased leaders until ridden and weakened 3f out, last of 13, 27l behind Sagunt (8-5) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-50 (6) pol in Dec.
Itsy Bitsy 16-1 (8-8) Tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 11, 12l behind Little Richard (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Dec.
Welcome Releaf 17-2 (9-0) Dwelt in rear, never dangerous, 9th of 12, 9l behind Vanatina (8-11) at Southwell 7f Stks (41-45) (7) fbs in Jan.
Charlie Bear 100-1 (10-7) Held up, short-lived effort over 2f out, 11th of 12, 20l behind Mustajed (10-13) at Lingfield 1m 4f amt hcp (5) pol in Jan.
Integration 25-1 (9-4) Mid-division, headway 6f out, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten, 7th of 8, 23l behind Mujamead (8-9) at W'hampton 1m 6f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Jan '08.
Katie Kingfisher 80-1 (9-12) Very slowly away, always in rear, 11th of 13, 36l behind Cumbrian Knight (11-4) at Southwell 1m 6f amt hcp (6) fbs in Nov.
