towards rear, ridden along and headway over 2f out, no extra final furlong
prominent, ridden along over 2f out, driven and one pace final furlong
in touch, reminders over 4f out, soon beaten
held up, headway over 2f out, one pace final furlong
tracked leaders, led over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
held up, headway over 2f, driven over 1f, ran on to lead inside final furlong, kept on
dwelt, always behind
towards rear, effort over 3f out, no impression
led, pushed along over 6f out, headed over 2f out, soon weakened
towards rear, never dangerous
prominent, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
This presents an obvious chance for Speagle to gain another victory. Birthday Star, Escoffier and Veloso are others to consider. Formerly trained in France by John Hammond, Veloso has won over a similar trip so has nothing to prove regarding his stamina. However, it has to be a concern that he has not seen racecourse action for 815 days, so it may be best to gauge the reaction of the betting market before jumping on board with Ronald O'Leary's charge. The County Clare-based trainer is an extremely rare visitor (if ever previously) to Wolverhampton but there are too many questions to answer for us to forward this fellow as a solid option. Escoffier acts on the surface and is one of the more lively outsiders worth considering. However, he is not the strongest of battlers and he needs everything to go his way. Birthday Star won a course and distance claimer in July and is respected on that form. The five-year-old will have been sharpened up by his blow out a fortnight ago and he rates as the best alternative to the selection. Even so, Speagle - already a dual winner at Wolverhampton - is a much better horse on the all weather and, as the form of his latest start looks the most reliable yardstick from recent evidence, the Declan Carroll-trained gelding is given another throw of the dice at this level.
Birthday Star (IRE) 25-1 (9-6) Slowly into stride, held up, headway over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 4th of 12, 6l behind Mr Mischief (9-7) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Oct.
Davidia (IRE) 7-1 (8-10) Towards rear, effort over 1f out, soon beaten, 7th of 13, 6l behind Time To Regret (9-2) at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-50 (6) pol.
Escoffier 25-1 (9-6) Always towards rear, 10th of 12, 26l behind Mr Mischief (9-7) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Oct.
History Prize (IRE) 40-1 (8-5) Held up towards rear, ridden 4f out, soon behind, last of 12, 34l behind Rule For Ever (9-3) at W'hampton 2m 1f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Mar.
Island King (IRE) 150-1 (9-9) Slowly into stride, always towards rear, 5th of 7, 25l behind Arqaam (9-3) at Redcar 1m 1f mdn stk (5) gf in Sept.
Speagle (IRE) 9-1 (8-10) Mid-division, ridden and edged left over 1f out, kept on one pace, 6th of 11, 4 1/2l behind Birkside (9-11) at Kempton 1m 2f clm (6) pol.
Veloso (FR) (9-2) Held up, good headway to lead 1f out, stayed on strongly, won at La Roche 1m 3f mdn stk gd in Aug '05 beating Noble Zazie (8-11) by 3 1/2l, 10 ran.
Homecroft Boy 12-1 (8-12) Always in rear, 11th of 12, 10l behind Faraday (9-5) at W'hampton 1m 1f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Aug.
Hook Money (IRE) 28-1 (8-1) Reminders soon after start, behind and pushed along, ridden and headway over 4f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 11, 13l behind Mister Fizzbomb (8-12) at Catterick 1m 4f app clm (6) gd in Oct.
Slip Silver 50-1 (8-4) Led after 1f, ridden and headed over 2f out, gradually weakened, 9th of 14, 7l behind Hatton Flight (9-3) at Kempton 1m 4f 3yo hcp (6) pol in Oct.
Taran Tregarth 100-1 (7-13) Keen hold in mid-division, no chance final 3f, 5th of 11, 16l behind Nawamees (9-10) at W'hampton 1m 4f app clm (6) pol in Oct.
The Mighty Ogmore 40-1 (8-1) In rear, steady headway over 2f out , kept on, not trouble leaders, 5th of 13, 9l behind Fresh Mint (8-6) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
