tracked leaders, headway over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, kept on, headed and no extra near finish
chased leaders on outside, lost place over 1f out, soon weakened
chased leaders, ridden inside final furlong, kept on same pace
tracked leader, led well over 1f out, soon ridden, headed inside final furlong, no extra
slowly into stride, behind, driven and headway over 1f out, ridden and ran on well inside final furlong, squeezed through to lead near finish
mid-division, driven over 1f out, kept on same pace, no impressioin
mid-division, ridden and headway on outside over 1f out, stayed on and every chance well inside final furlong, just held
led, ridden and headed well over 1f out, weakened final furlong
always behind
behind, outpaced over 2f out, soon ridden, kept on final furlong, never near leaders
slowly into stride, soon mid-division, lost place 2f out, weakened over 1f out
Absa Lutte looks capable of making them all go despite being 10lbs higher than when winning a second successive claimer here last time, but preference is for FEMME DE FER. The Clive Cox-trained selection went very well when just held on her handicap debut at Wolverhampton last time and this looks to be her trip. She is untried on this particular Polytrack surface but that is not to say she won't handle it. Up just 2lbs for that recent run, she looks capable of breaking her duck from a good draw. Absa Lutte is clearly in great heart but is not so well drawn and will find this tougher with her hike in the weights. Punching is now on a very handy mark, but his preference appears to be for Southwell, and this trip is probably short of his best. Ask Jenny is weighted to be very competitive here and races over her optimum trip, although she might just have a few pounds too many to shoulder than will enable her to win. First-time cheek pieces may help La Capriosa, but neither her mark nor her draw are ideal, so we will stick with Femme De Fer.
Femme De Fer 9-2 (9-1) Went left start, tracked leading pair, ridden 2f out, driven and stayed on to take 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 13, 3/4l behind Liberty Island (9-4) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Oct.
La Capriosa 7-1 (8-7) Tracked winner until 1f out, ridden and no extra, 5th of 8, 3 1/2l behind Nickel Silver (9-4) at Nottingham 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.
Quasi Congaree (GER) 3-1 (8-10) Tracked leader, ridden to challenge over 2f out, soon weakened, 8th of 9, 13l behind Fault (8-11) at Kempton 6f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Cape Royal 4-1fav (9-4) Led, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 5th of 9, 2 1/4l behind Absa Lutte (8-12) at Kempton 5f clm stks 0-70 (6) pol in Oct.
Lord of The Reins (IRE) 12-1 (8-8) Slowly into stride, headway to dispute second after 1f, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 8, 5l behind Nickel Silver (9-4) at Nottingham 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.
Punching 33-1 (8-7) Took keen hold, held up in rear, wide straight, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, not pace to threaten, 5th of 12, 3 1/2l behind Misaro (9-3) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Irish Music (IRE) 8-1 (9-4) Chased leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed and kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 15, 2 1/4l behind Rosie Says No (9-2) at Yarmouth 5f hcp 0-60 (6) gd in Oct.
Ten Down 13-2 (8-5) Prominent, led halfway, headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, last of 10, 9l behind Step It Up (8-13) at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Asaint Needs Brass (USA) 14-1 (8-9) Pulled hard tracking leaders, pushed along over 2f out, weakened well over 1f out, last of 10, 10l behind Straight Face (8-1) at Lingfield 7f clm stks 0-70 (6) pol in Oct.
Ask Jenny (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Behind, stayed on well inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 1/2l behind Spoof Master (9-1) at Kempton 5f hcp (6) pol in Oct.
Stoneacre Pat (IRE) 16-1 (8-6) Slowly into stride, held up towards rear, came wide straight, kept on one pace inside final furlong, 6th of 12, 6l behind Bluebok (9-4) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Apr.
Absa Lutte (IRE) 9-4 (8-13) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, smooth headway between horses over 1f out, quickened to lead inside final furlong, pushed along and ran on well, won at Kempton 6f clm stks 0-70 (6) pol in Oct beating Thunder Bay (8-8) by 1 1/2l, 8 ran.
