slowly away, always behind, tailed off final 3f
led 8f out, ridden and headed 2f out, soon no chance with winner, kept on for clear 2nd
keen, held up in touch, smooth headway to track leaders 3f out, led going well 2f out, clear and ridden and flashed tail inside final furlong
took keen hold, tracked leaders, outpaced over 2f out, soon beaten
held up in rear, headway to chase leading pair over 2f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out
in touch, driven along 4f out, soon beaten
led to 8f out, chased leader to 3f out, weakened quickly
chased leaders, ridden and weakened 3f out
dwelt, soon recovered to chase leaders, lost place over 3f out, rallied to take modest 3rd 1f out
headway and close up from halfway, hard ridden and weakened 2f out
always behind
With a number of relatively unexposed horses in the line-up, this is a tricky race to fathom, but the shortlist consists of Hope An Glory, Sharp N Frosty, Hoh My Darling, Trymore and Nobelix. The vote just goes to Hope An Glory. Nick Littmoden's colt has only raced on sand so far, but caught the eye on his debut when trained by Walter Swinburn. He steps up in trip for his handicap debut here, which seems sure to suit, and any market support for him would increase our confidence. Of the others, Sharp N Frosty has some fair form in the book, having won on his reappearance at Nottingham, while Trymore and Nobelix both hail from yards quite capable of getting horses ready to win on their handicap debuts. Asateel floundered on heavy ground at Leicester on his reappearance, but could easily be capable of better here. However, we'll stick with Hope An Glory.
Trymore (IRE) 14-1 Chased leader, ridden 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 12, 4l behind Avanti Avanti at Lingfield 1m 3yo mdn aut (E4) pol in Jan.
Darko Karim 25-1 Never better than mid-division, 12th of 17, 20l behind Glen Ida at Kempton 1m 1f 3yo hcp gd in Mar.
Asaateel (IRE) 12-1 Held up, headway over 5f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, 5th of 16, 8l behind Sirce at Leicester 1m 2f 3yo hcp sft.
Krasivi's Boy (USA) 50-1 In touch, ridden approaching 2f out, weakened, 12th of 13, 17l behind Alright My Son at Windsor 1m 2yo hcp 0-85 (D2) gd in Oct.
Nobelix (IRE) 14-1 Led early, chased leaders, weakened well over 1f out, 10th of 16, 10l behind Golden Fury at Warwick 1m 3yo mdn gs in Mar.
Sharp N Frosty 14-1 Tracked leaders, ridden to chase leader over 2f out, hung left and led 1f out, ridden out, won at Nottingham 1m 2f 3yo hcp gs beating Forest Viking by 1 1/2l, 16 ran.
Toque 8-1 Prominent, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, 11th of 12, 13l behind Union Jack Jackson at W'hampton 1m 1f 2yo hcp (F4) pol in Dec.
Hoh My Darling 7-1 Prominent, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 11, 12l behind Bonnabee at Beverley 1m 4f 3yo fll hcp gd.
Benedict Bay 100-1 Slowly into stride, always behind, 12th of 16, 7l behind Enforcer at Goodwood 7f 2yo hcp 0-85 (D2) gs in Oct.
Moonfleet (IRE) 25-1 Always behind, tailed off over 1f out, last of 12, 34l behind Fly To Dubai at W'hampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp pol.
Ferrara Flame (IRE) 20-1 Dwelt, never in contention, 9th of 14, 6l behind He's A Star at Warwick 7f 3yo hcp gs in Mar.
Hope An Glory (IRE) 10-1 Towards rear and soon ridden along, late headway over 1f out but not a danger, 5th of 10, 10l behind Coeur Courageux at Lingfield 7f 3yo mdn (D3) pol in Mar.
