chased leaders, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, weakened over 1f out, soon eased
tracked leaders, kept on same pace
with leader and keen, ridden 2f out, no extra 1f out
prominent, led inside final furlong, driven out
held up mid-division, weakened entering final furlong
slowly away, always behind
held up towards rear, weakened final furlong
held up towards rear, headway 1f out, soon ridden one pace
led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, not quicken
LA GIFTED can take the opener, while Istiqdaam and King Of Defence are others short listed. The selection has racked up four of her seven career wins over this course and distance and has been dropped 1lb since being a beaten favourite here last time. She has won from all sorts of draws here, so we shouldn't be put off by no.12 against her name and with Fallon booked for the job the pair can make it another winning one. King Of Defence tries Dunstall Park for the first time and he should be able to act here if pedigree is anything to go by. 4lbs higher than when scoring over this trip at Kempton a couple of starts ago, he can get competitive. Istiqdaam represents a yard going well and has been put up a reasonable-looking 8lbs for a decisive success at Kempton. This is a little bit tougher, but improvement is anticipated and he can go close. Dash Back stayed on strongly over 6f here last time and from the same mark, now returned to this trip, he has claims of his own, while My Sweet Georgia appears to have a clear preference for Southwell. We'll take La Gifted to score.
Electric Warrior (IRE) 80-1 (8-11) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 13, 38l behind Ultimate (8-11) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Oct.
La Gifted 11-4fav (8-12) Led, headed over 5f out, tracked leaders after, ridden to chase leader entering final 2f, one pace final furlong, 5th of 12, 3l behind Black Dahlia (9-5) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Nov.
Tin Cha Woody (USA) 40-1 (8-9) Always in rear, 10th of 11, 12l behind Global City (8-12) at Lingfield 6f stks (3yo+) (3) pol in Nov.
Kensington (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 13th of 14, 17l behind Imprimis Tagula (9-3) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Nov.
Sadeek 16-1 (9-3) Mid-division, lost place over 2f out, soon weakened, 11th of 13, 14l behind Ancient Cross (9-1) at Catterick 7f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.
Dash Back (USA) 8-1 (8-11) Held up in rear, headway final furlong, ran on well towards finish, 4th of 12, 1/2l behind Perlachy (8-7) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
He's A Humbug (IRE) 80-1 (8-12) Towards rear, ridden and headway entering final 2f, no impression final furlong, 7th of 13, 3 1/2l behind Great Charm (9-1) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Nov.
Silver Hotspur 33-1 (9-2) Dwelt, behind, outpaced over 2f out, never dangerous, 8th of 9, 9l behind Dinner Date (8-10) at Kempton 1m app hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
My Sweet Georgia (IRE) 20-1 (8-9) Outpaced and always in rear, last of 11, 15l behind Tourist (9-4) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Eastern Gift 25-1 (9-4) Held up, ridden over 2f out, always behind, 10th of 13, 16l behind Elusive Fame (9-2) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Nov.
Istiqdaam 5-2fav (8-12) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, ran on well, won at Kempton 7f hcp (0-65) (6) pol in Nov beating Connor's Choice (9-0) by 4l, 11 ran.
King of Defence 13-8fav (9-1) Went left start, took keen hold, in touch on outside, ridden 2f out, soon hung right and weakened, 8th of 12, 5l behind Fernando Torres (8-11) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Nov.
