close up, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
in rear, ridden 4f out, never near leaders
mid-division, ridden 5f out, soon weakened
keen, tracked leaders, effort and every chance on inside over 1f out, soon outpaced by winner
keen, always in rear
keen, mid-division, good headway to lead over 1f out, edged left and quickened to go clear, stayed on strongly
close up, ridden and every chance over 1f out, kept on same pace
chased leader, led 3f out, headed over 1f out, weakened quickly final furlong
held up in touch, ridden 2f out, kept on not pace to challenge
led, ridden and headed 3f out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden over 2f out, kept on final furlong, never troubled leaders
in rear, ridden over 2f out, never dangerous
reared start, dwelt, in rear, ridden 6f out, weakened 3f out
LAPINA gets the vote in the opener, though North Walk is not one to dismiss lightly. The selection has already won over a similar trip to this at Nottingham back in July and is 5lb below that winning mark here on the Polytrack. She has run pretty well on most occasions in the interim, but she has slid back down in the weights and she was staying on well over shorter than this at Wolverhampton last time out. The return to this sort of distance will be a plus and at these weights she looks the one to be on. North Walk hails from a yard going well and was last seen out on the flat at Southwell in the summer, when third on a standard to slow surface over 12f. He stays 2m 4f over hurdles and was a recent easy winner in that discipline, so he is fit and firing and should give the selection most to do. Little Richard has been dropped 1lb since his last run at Wolverhampton and is still on a very competitive mark here, so he has to enter calculations if he handles this track as well as Dunstall Park. Dontpaytheferryman is learning his trade and is certainly open to improvement. He ran well at Kempton last time and should not be dismissed, while Bienheureux probably needs a favour from the assessor and we'll take Lapina to score.
Little Richard (IRE) 8-1 (9-10) In touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, no extra when headed inside final furlong and soon lost 2nd, 3rd of 13, 3 1/2l behind Berry Baby (9-1) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Nov.
Touch of Style (IRE) 16-1 (9-9) Held up behind leaders, effort over 3f, weakened over 1f, 7th of 14, 6l behind Three Strings (9-1) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Nov.
Sovereign Spirit (IRE) 16-1 (9-4) Chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, last of 13, 35l behind Kerayasi (9-3) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Oct.
Generous Star 10-1 (9-7) Slowly into stride, soon in touch, chased winner 2f out, hung left from over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 3rd of 13, 4l behind Lady Pilot (10-0) at W'hampton 2m 1f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Nov.
Goblin 14-1 (9-13) Held up, pushed along 3f out, never near leaders, 9th of 16, 11l behind High Bray (9-7) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp (5) gf in May '05.
Lapina (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, came wide and headway entering straight, kept on to chase winner inside final furlong, no impression, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Amazing King (9-1) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Nov.
North Walk (IRE) 28-1 (9-4) Led, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 5l behind Black Falcon (9-5) at Southwell 1m 4f clm (6) fbs in Jul.
Vanquisher (IRE) 10-1 (8-9) Raced wide mid-division, ridden and weakened over 3f out, 7th of 13, 16l behind Brave Mave (9-1) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Nov.
Bienheureux 14-1 (10-10) Held up, ridden 4f out, never on terms, 10th of 16, 36l behind Prince Rhyddarch (10-3) at Newcastle 1m 4f amt hcp (6) hvy in Oct.
Oberlin (USA) 12-1 (7-13) In rear, pushed along 6f out, no real headway, 9th of 13, 25l behind Brave Mave (9-1) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) fbs in Nov.
Sabancaya 7-1 (8-10) Mid-division, headway over 2f, stayed on final furlong, 4th of 14, 3 1/2l behind Three Strings (9-1) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Nov.
Dontpaytheferryman (USA) 10-1 (9-3) Held up in rear, headway 2f out, stayed on to take 2nd over 1f out, no chance with winner, 2nd of 10, 5l behind Yab Adee (9-9) at Kempton 1m 4f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Nov.
Jemiliah 50-1 (8-7) Mid-division on outside, ridden 3f out, soon weakened, 12th of 14, 17l behind Duty Doctor (9-1) at Brighton 1m hcp 0-65 (6) gs in Oct.
Kanonkop 20-1 (8-0) Led after 1f, set steady pace, headed over 2f out, soon outpaced, 5th of 9, 6l behind Ravenna (8-3) at Lingfield 1m 4f sll (6) pol in Jun '07.
