held up in rear, some headway 4 out, weakened next, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
led, ridden 2 out, headed before last, kept on same pace flat
in touch, hit 4th, driven and outpaced 3 out, weakened from next
held up, outpaced 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before last
mid-division, lost place 5th, weakened 4 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
held up, struggling 4 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
in touch, effort to chase leader before 3 out to next, ridden and one pace approaching last
mid-division, driven and headway after 3 out, ridden to go 2nd next, led before last, stayed on well flat
chased leader, pushed along 5th, lost place before 3 out, soon weakened
held up, effort to chased leaders 4 out, outpaced next, weakened 2 out
chased leaders, lost place 4 out, soon weakened, tailed off
in touch, outpaced 3 out, soon ridden, weakened from next
behind, reminders 3rd, soon lost touch, tailed off when pulled up before last
Ballyveeney and Ballamusic are long absent runners from top yards to note in the market but KEY CUTTER boasts more recent form claims. Alan King and Venetia Williams are both capable of producing horses to win back from a break and both of their runners are unexposed individuals who had looked promising when last in action whilst the handicapper has given Ballamusic a real chance as he's 9lbs lower than for his handicap bow on his most recent start. Cobbler's Queen is a likeable mare but she has 7lbs more to carry than when scoring at Leicester in November and may not want underfoot conditions to be too soft so preference, therefore, is for Key Cutter. Paul Webber's gelding has been rather hit and miss in his career thus far but he showed a decent level of form when beating Always Bold at Uttoxeter last March before failing to run to anywhere near that level of form in his next two outings. He bounced back to form over course and distance last month when chasing home a gambled on winner for which he's been raised by 5lbs. He has the scope to defy his new mark but more of a concern is whether he'll run up to the same level of form but we'll take a chance that connections have unlocked Key Cutter's potential.
Elk Trail (IRE) 25-1 (10-13) Held up in rear, pulled hard, ridden 3 out, headway approaching 2 out, weakened before last, 7th of 12, 14l behind Keki Buku (11-5) at Leicester 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) sft in Dec.
Key Cutter (FR) 33-1 (11-7) Held up, chased leaders 4 out, ridden approaching next, led 2 out, headed last, no extra, 2nd of 16, 1 1/4l behind Stoop To Conquer (11-12) at Huntingdon 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gs in Dec.
Sun Quest 12-1 (10-6) Led, ridden and headed after 3 out, soon weakened, mistake and unseated rider 2 out, in a race won by Oddshoes (11-12) at Wincanton 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) hvy in Dec, 4 ran.
Loco Grande (IRE) 11-1 (10-4) Mid-division, headway to chase leaders approaching 6th, ridden and weakened soon after 3 out, 5th of 12, 25l behind Dontpaytheferryman (9-13) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) hvy in Nov.
Casual Garcia 5-1 (11-2) Held up, headway 7th, slightly outpaced after 3 out, stayed on to go 3rd before last, no threat to front pair, 3rd of 11, 4 1/2l behind Tarvini (11-7) at Huntingdon 3m 2f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gd in Nov.
Ballamusic (IRE) 20-1 (11-12) Held up mid-division, headway to chase leaders approaching 3 out, ridden approaching next, kept on same pace, 5th of 12, 10l behind Souffleur (11-2) at Aintree 3m nov hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Oct '07.
Ballyveeney (IRE) 10-3fav (11-9) Held up in touch, headway to chase leaders 3 out, challenged next, led well before last, already headed and looked tired when fell last, in a race won by Midnight Chase (11-12) at Folkestone 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) sft in Dec '08, 8 ran.
Cobbler's Queen (IRE) 7-2fav (11-0) Held up in touch, chased leaders 4 out, soon led, headed 3 out, rallied after 2 out, led after last, driven out, won at Leicester 2m 4f mares nov hcp hdl (4) gd in Nov beating Devon Native (11-9) by 1 3/4l, 12 ran.
Gunnadoit (USA) 28-1 (10-9) Close up, lost place and outpaced 4 out, headway 3 out, one pace 2 out, 4th of 13, 15l behind Winterwood (11-10) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Dec.
Ruby Crown 17-2 (11-12) Held up in rear, pushed along 5th, never in contention, 6th of 11, 42l behind Quinte Du Chatelet (12-4) at Leicester 2m hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gf in Dec.
Petroupetrov (FR) 16-1 (10-11) Held up mid-division, chased leaders approaching 2 out, weakened approaching last, 6th of 16, 16l behind Stoop To Conquer (11-12) at Huntingdon 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gs in Dec.
Waarid 11-4fav (11-1) Not fluent or travelling, held up towards rear, mistake and ridden 3rd, hit next, driven and no impression before 2 out, went modest 4th last, 4th of 11, 15l behind Mix N Match (10-5) at Wincanton 2m nov hcp hdl 0-100 (4) sft in Dec.
Pardon What 13-2 (10-1) Chased leaders, mistake 3rd, outpaced 7th, rallied flat to take 2nd towards finish, no chance with winner, 2nd of 8, 10l behind Quinte Du Chatelet (10-13) at Uttoxeter 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) hvy in Nov.
I've Been Framed (IRE) 25-1 (11-2) Held up in touch, headway to chase leaders before 7th, went 2nd 3 out until driven and dropped to 3rd and mistake 2 out, weakened, 4th of 12, 28l behind The Minack (11-8) at Kempton 2m 5f nh nov hdl (3) sft.
