mid-division, ridden halfway, no impression
held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, every chance over 1f out, no extra
in touch, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, no impression
held up mid-division, effort over 2f out, no impression from over 1f out
towards rear, ridden over 2f out, hung left and soon weakened
chased leaders, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, kept on final furlong
held up behind, ridden and headway over 2f out, led entering final furlong, soon clear
mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, no extra from over 1f out
chased leaders, one pace final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, headed entering final furlong, soon no impression
slowly into stride, always behind
Mystical Air represents a fair betting proposition in the finale and gets the nod over Little Bob and Fortress. There may also be a bit more to come from Queen's Echo, who has been knocking on the door lately and, as a previous course winner, she has to be respected. Especially as the ground has turned in her favour. However, she does not find winning comes as a natural process and will always be vulnerable to a more clinical finisher. Fortress comes here on the back of encouraging form figures and will no doubt have her supporters. However, as is the case with Queen's Echo, a solitary win from her previous starts says plenty about her reliability to keep going to the line. Little Bob has been in good heart over jumps and is worth considering on the best of his efforts. However, the locally-trained Mystical Air has a very similar profile but, with the ground and trip ideal for Linda Perratt's charge, his case for a punt looks the most compelling to side with in the finale.
Little Bob 16-1 (8-10) Prominent, led over 6f out, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 16, 6l behind Cleaver (9-3) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) sft in Nov.
Fortress 6-1 (8-2) Mid-division, smooth headway and every chance over 2f out, soon ridden, led inside last, headed when no extra close home, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Flylowflylong (8-1) at Hamilton 1m fll hcp (4) gd.
Mystical Ayr (IRE) 10-1 (8-4) In touch, ridden over 3f out, chased winner and one pace final furlong, 2nd of 14, 1/2l behind Tsaroxy (8-13) at Hamilton 1m 1f hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Apache Nation (IRE) 20-1 (9-4) Mid-division, outpaced over 2f out, soon weakened, 13th of 15, 14l behind Sedge (9-4) at Thirsk 7f hcp 0-60 (6) gf.
Neil's Legacy (IRE) 25-1 (8-7) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, no impression, 9th of 14, 10l behind Tsaroxy (8-13) at Hamilton 1m 1f hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Jordans Spark 20-1 (8-8) Always behind, eased over 1f out, 13th of 14, 24l behind Violent Velocity (9-0) at Musselburgh 7f hcp 0-65 (6) gf.
Elopement (IRE) 12-1 (8-1) Mid-division, headway over 4f out, ridden to lead over 3f out, ridden out, won at Bath 1m 2f hcp 0-65 (6) gd beating Piano Man (8-5) by 1l, 10 ran.
Bijou Dan 33-1 (8-1) Towards rear, effort over 2f out, no impression, 6th of 8, 15l behind Genari (8-4) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-85 (4) fbs.
Queen's Echo 4-1 (9-2) Soon in touch, headway when not much room well over 1f out, switched left, ridden and stayed on final furlong, kept on, no chance with winner, 2nd of 11, 2l behind Baylaw Star (9-12) at Musselburgh 7f clm (6) gd.
Komreyev Star 33-1 (8-8) Tracked leaders, driven 3f out, weakened final furlong, 16th of 17, 6l behind Jill Dawson (9-0) at Warwick 1m app hcp (6) gf.
Zell (IRE) 50-1 (9-2) Slowly into stride, never a factor, 10th of 14, 10l behind Tender The Great (9-9) at Warwick 7f fll hcp (5) gf.
Barataria 7-1 (8-13) In touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 10th of 14, well behind Boppys Pride (8-4) at Ayr 1m 1f hcap (6) hvy in Oct.
