chased leader on inner, 4th halfway, progress 1 1/2f out, soon ridden, closed under 1f out, kept on same pace
in rear, 14th halfway, switched left and ridden under 2f out, headway over 1f out, improved to lead final 100 yards, kept on well
towards rear, 10th halfway, niggled along approaching straight, progress on outer over 1f out, soon ridden, kept on same pace final furlong
chased leader, under pressure in 6th halfway, came wide entering straight, lost place 2f out, ridden under 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong
rear, 13th halfway, switched left 2f out, no impression 1f out, one paced, never a factor
mid-division, 9th halfway, came wide entering straight, soon lost place, ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong, eased closing stages
missed break and awkward leaving stalls, soon pushed along and raced towards rear, 11th halfway, ridden and progress over 1f out, weakened under 1f out
rear of mid-division, 7th halfway, progress over 1f out, ridden to lead narrowly under 1f out, headed final 100 yards, kept on
broke well to lead narrowly, disputed before halfway, headed entering straight, ridden 1 1/2f out, lost place 1f out, weakened
towards rear, 12th halfway, under pressure over 2f out, ridden under 2f out, kept on final furlong, no threat
broke well, soon tracked leader, disputed before 3f, led entering straight, ridden 1 1/2f out, soon edged right, headed under 1f out, no extra
prominent on outer, headway to close after 2f, 3rd halfway, lost place 2f out, soon ridden and weakened quickly, detached under 1f out
in touch, 5th halfway, ridden over 1f out, kept on without threatening to 4th close home
rear of mid-division, 8th halfway, ridden and progress under 2f out, ran on final furlong, never nearer
Highly Approved, four times a winner here, has drawn the inside berth and can pop up at any time. Nigg Bay has only won once here and hasn't run since January but returns on a surprisingly lenient mark and his trainer is adept at getting one ready. NOIRVENTO has been running well and gave notice of an imminent victory when a close third to Pillar in October. He duly obliged a month later and though 7lb higher can complete a double. Aloysius Lilius looked to be going best of all when tackling 5f last week but found Dandy Spirit just too strong and has gone up 5lb. Linus Larrabee won over 7f last month but has the pace for this and is one to keep on the right side.
Aloysius Lilius (IRE) 11-2 (9-3) Tracked leader, 2nd travelling well 2f out, ridden over 1f out and kept on inside final furlong, no impression on winner closing stages, 2nd of 13, 1/2l behind Dandy Spirit (9-5) at Dundalk 5f hcp pol in Dec.
Irish Acclaim (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) Reared slight start, always behind, 11th of 13, 21 1/4l behind Late Arrival (9-2) at Kempton 7f hcp (5) pol in Sep.
Noirvento (IRE) 5-4fav (10-0) Eld up in rear, pushed along on outer and progress from 2f out, ridden and went 2nd 1f out, improved to lead inside final furlong, stayed on well, won at Dundalk 6f hcp pol in Nov beating Fit For Function (9-12) by 3/4l, 14 ran.
Dark Kris (IRE) 17-2 (10-0) Mid-division, ridden 2f out, weakened, 7th of 13, 2 3/4l behind Eglish (9-13) at Dundalk 7f hcp pol in Nov.
Nigg Bay (IRE) 7-1 (9-11) Mid-division, pushed along and some headway between horses over 1f out, ridden and kept on well final 100 yards to go 2nd close home, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind May Remain (9-10) at Dundalk 5f hcp pol in Jan.
Bluepower (IRE) 17-2 (9-3) Mid-division, pushed along under 2f out and no impression 1f out, kept on one pace, 7th of 13, 5 3/4l behind Dandy Spirit (9-5) at Dundalk 5f hcp pol in Dec.
Highly Approved (IRE) 6-1 (9-3) Mid-division on inner, ridden 2f out, no impression, never a factor, 7th of 12, 5 1/4l behind Boitron (9-1) at Dundalk 7f pol in Dec.
Miss Jabeam (IRE) 11-1 (10-2) Mid-division early, 10th approaching straight, slightly impeded from 2f out, kept on same pace from over 1f out, 9th of 14, 4 3/4l behind Pulse Of Shanghai (9-10) at Dundalk 7f hcp pol in Oct.
Limit Long 28-1 (9-7) Chased leaders, took keen hold early and disputed lead after 2f, ridden and headed entering straight, weakened, 10th of 14, 8 1/4l behind Pulse Of Shanghai (9-8) at Dundalk 7f hcp pol in Nov.
Master Spy (IRE) 28-1 (10-2) Towards rear, no impression straight, never a factor, 10th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Keepthebestsideout (8-13) at Dundalk 6f hcp pol in Nov.
Maggie Thunder (IRE) 3-1fav (10-2) Prominent, 5th approaching straight, headway behind horses under 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 7th of 12, 5 1/4l behind Dandy Spirit (9-11) at Dundalk 5f hcp pol in Nov.
Bellick 12-1 (10-0) Awkward and very slowly away, behind in rear, kept on same pace on inner from 2f out, 11th of 12, 10 3/4l behind Dandy Spirit (9-11) at Dundalk 5f hcp pol in Nov.
Memsie (IRE) 40-1 (10-1) Slightly bumped with rival soon after start and pushed along briefly, waited with, disputed 10th approaching straight, ridden and some headway and edged slightly left from over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 9th of 14, 5 1/2l behind Dee Sprinter (9-1) at Dundalk 5f hcp pol in Nov.
Fit For Function 4-1fav (10-2) Chased leaders, ridden in 5th 2f out, 3rd 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 14, 1l behind Tynamite (9-1) at Dundalk 6f pol in Dec.
Linus Larrabee (IRE) 3-1fav (10-4) Chased leader and ran freely, 5th 3f out, travelled well 2f out, soon closed, led narrowly over 1f out, veered right and headed final 100 yards, no extra, 4th of 12, 1 1/4l behind Foreign Legion (9-10) at Dundalk 7f hcp pol in Nov.
Never Back Down (IRE) 9-2 (9-13) Towards rear, pushed along on outer 2f out, soon ridden, close 4th 1f out, kept on in close 4th final furlong, 4th of 10, 3/4l behind Time And Money (9-12) at Dundalk 1m hcp pol in Nov.
Dash D'Or (IRE) 8-1 (10-1) Towards rear, headway on far side 2f out, 3rd and ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 10th of 17, 4 3/4l behind Bahlwan (9-9) at Curragh 5f hcp Good - Yielding in Aug.
