led after 1f, ridden and headed 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakening when not much inside final furlong
mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, edged left inside final furlong, kept on
held up, ridden over 3f out, never troubled leaders
led 1f, chased leaders, ridden to lead again 1f out, soon edged left, ran on
held up, not clear run over 2f out, soon ridden, ran on final furlong, nearest at finish
prominent, ridden to lead 2f out, headed 1f out, stayed on
slowly into stride, always behind
mid-division, headway halfway, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in touch, headway and hung left over 2f out, one pace inside final furlong
Flowerdrum handled similar conditions well enough when successful at Yarmouth last time but the William Haggas-trained filly may struggle to follow up off a 7lb higher mark and preference is for Namroud, who gets the nod over Ettrick Water. The last mentioned returns for his first start since finishing third off today's mark in a decent race at Ascot in September and has to be respected, if fit enough. Towards the other end of the handicap, the consistent Qualitair Wings warrants a mention along with Tim Easterby's Young Mr Grace, who should again be thereabouts. Ripon winner Intricate Web may not appreciate the drop in trip, while Uhoomagoo is probably better over shorter so the vote goes to Namroud. The son of Irish River would not have an obvious chance judged by previous efforts this season but Richard Fahey's runners have been under a cloud until recently and there is probably a lot more to come from the gelding than we have seen so far this term. He gets the vote in anticipation of an improved run.
