held up, kept on, never near leaders
slowly away in rear, headway 4f out, soon tracked leaders, ridden and weakened over 1f out
mid-division, lost place 6f out, headway 4f out, wide into straight 2f out, ridden and stayed on final furlong
close up, clipped heels and stumbled over 4f out, soon ridden, kept on same pace
raced wide in touch, headway to join leader over 10f out, ridden 3f out, led 2f out, soon headed, weakened final furlong
in rear, good headway on inside over 1f out, soon chased winner, no impression inside final furlong
prominent, led well over 1f out, ridden and ran on
in rear, headway on outer 6f out, soon tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 2f out
close up, ridden over 2f out, stayed on one pace final furlong
prominent, ridden halfway, faded from over 4f out
raced wide keen mid-division, headway 12f out, weakened over 4f out
dwelt in rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on same pace
led, joined over 10f out, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened final furlong
Most of these stayers are hard to predict, although VERTUEUX managed to put a couple of good runs together when following up a third at this track with victory in an apprentices' race at Wolverhampton last time. As such, he's a winner without a penalty and makes more appeal than Delorain, who won this in 2010 but arrives in dire form today. Six Of Clubs is another struggling to find his best and recent winners Galiotto and Prince Charlemagne both disappointed last time. But Waldsee and Blue Cossack posted better efforts earlier this month and may figure.
Galiotto (IRE) 11-2 (9-11) Dwelt, mid-division, ridden over 2f out, one pace, 5th of 10, 6l behind Prince Charlemagne (8-9) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Red Current 8-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride chased leaders, under pressure 2f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 7, 4 1/2l behind Guards Chapel (9-0) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Valdan (IRE) 14-1 (10-3) Mid-division, weakened over 3f out, 11th of 14, 46l behind Sistine (9-11) at Southwell 1m 6f am hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Jan.
Vertueux (FR) 5-2fav (9-9) Disputed close 4th, ridden and went 3rd over 3f out, went 2nd over 2f out, in lead last half furlong, stayed on well, won at Wolverhampton 1m 6f app hcp 0-60 (6) pol beating Corvette (9-0) by 1 3/4l, 8 ran.
Extremely So 11-1 (9-3) Led, hard ridden over 3f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened, 5th of 8, 7l behind Unex Picasso (9-6) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Jan.
Six of Clubs 14-1 (8-12) Held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 10, 27l behind Prince Charlemagne (8-9) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jan.
Waldsee (GER) 8-1 (9-6) In touch, dropped to rear 12f out, pushed along 4f out, headway to lead over 2f out, soon joined, ridden and headed inside final furlong, kept on one pace, lost 2nd post, 3rd of 10, 2 3/4l behind Dew Reward (8-13) at Lingfield 2m sll hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Prince Charlemagne (IRE) 9-1 (9-1) Held up in rear, headway over 3f out, chased leaders over 2f out, soon one pace, 5th of 13, 16l behind Steady Gaze (9-7) at Kempton 2m hcp (0-55) (6) pol in Jan.
Blue Cossack (IRE) 6-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, went 2nd on inside 2f out, ridden and upsides final furlong, strong challenge close home, just failed, 2nd of 9, ns behind Fantino (9-10) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Delorain (IRE) 14-1 (9-3) Slowly away, pushed along towards rear, headway halfway, chased leaders over 5f out, weakened over 3f out, 11th of 13, 31l behind Steady Gaze (9-7) at Kempton 2m hcp (0-55) (6) pol in Jan.
Keep A Welcome 66-1 (9-0) Held up in touch, weakened over 4f out, moderate 4th, 4th of 6, 23l behind Exemplary (9-12) at Lingfield 2m clm stks (6) pol in Jan.
Tecktal (FR) 10-1 (8-6) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, some headway on wide outside 3f out, never on terms, 7th of 10, 12l behind Sennockian Storm (8-8) at Brighton 1m 4f app hcp (6) gf in Jul.
Miss Tenacious 66-1 (8-0) Always in rear, 8th of 11, 7l behind Grey Boy (8-8) at Bath 1m hcp (6) fm in Apr.