started slowly, towards rear, headway to chase leaders 3f out, effort over 1f out, quickly outpaced final furlong
in rear, not clear run on inside over 2f out, kept on from over 1f out, never nearer
raced keenly, led until headed 4f out, soon ridden, weakened from 3f out, eased over 2f out
mid-division, headway to lead over 2f out, ridden and headed narrowly just over 1f out, rallied to lead again inside final furlong, ran on well
tracked leader, led 4f out to over 2f out, weakened well over 1f out
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, led narrowly just over 1f out, no extra when headed inside final furlong
mid-division, ridden 3f out, no progress and weakened over 2f out
held up in rear, ridden 3f out, no danger from over 2f out
steadied start, held up in rear, ridden over 3f out, weakened from over 2f out
behind, ridden over 2f out, plugged on from over 1f out but never troubled leaders
A truly awful contest upon which we will not dwell too long, and marginal preference here is for Todwick Owl to outpoint Verbatim. The selection probably edges this at the weights on official ratings and has shown some decent form in context over 9f. Today's trip is a step into the unknown and although on the face of it it may look likely to stretch his stamina he does have a fair bit of that on his dams side and it may just elicit the necessary extra edge to win this. Verbatim almost broke her duck over c&d last time in a first-time visor and the headgear is retained here. Whether it will have the same effect remains to be seen, but if it does she'll go close. Blue Eyed Eloise reverts to the level after a break, which was preceded by a decent run over hurdles at Huntingdon. One previous run here proved to be abortive, but we can probably expect more now. Beech Games gets this trip and went quite well in handicap company last time, so looks another worthy challenger but in a race that should not take much winning Todwick Owl gets the nod.
Beech Games 50-1 (9-0) Towards rear, headway 2f out, kept on final furlong, not trouble leaders, 4th of 11, 4 1/2l behind dhtrs Noah Jameel (8-9) & Sir Haydn (9-6) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Dec.
George Henson (IRE) 66-1 (8-11) Slowly away, outpaced, 18th of 19, 19l behind Mr Napper Tandy (9-0) at Newmarket 7f 2yo mdn (5) sft in Oct '06.
Haydock Express (IRE) 40-1 (9-3) Held up in rear, ridden and lost touch 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 7th of 8, 10l behind Auntie Mame (8-12) at Kempton 1m 3f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Dec.
Rollin 'n Tumblin 5-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, driven to challenge over 2f out, soon hard ridden, one pace, 3rd of 7, 3l behind Art Man (9-5) at Lingfield 1m 2f mdn stk (5) pol.
Todwick Owl 10-1 (9-0) Held up, ridden and headway on outside 3f out, plugged on, 4th of 7, 3l behind Maiden Investor (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 1f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Dec.
Blue Eyed Eloise 16-1 (9-0) In touch, ridden over 5f out, weakened 3f out, 5th of 8, 21l behind Opal Haze (8-7) at Kempton 1m 4f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Jul.
Keagles (ITY) 100-1 (8-13) Held up in rear, ridden over 4f out, soon beaten, 9th of 10, 15l behind King's Majesty (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 2f clm (6) pol in Dec.
Lady Firecracker (IRE) 33-1 (8-10) Always towards rear, never a factor, 10th of 14, 19l behind Earl Kraul (8-12) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-50 (6) pol.
Red 9-4 (8-12) Slowly away, held up, raced keenly, ridden 4f out, some headway over 2f out, soon weakened, 4th of 7, 12l behind Prince of Medina (9-10) at W'hampton 1m 6f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Dec.
Verbatim 7-2 (8-9) Tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced 2f out, stayed on again final furlong to take 2nd final strides, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Auntie Mame (8-12) at Kempton 1m 3f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Dec.
