held up, headway over 1f out, ridden to chase easy winner inside final furlong
close up, ridden to chase leader over 2f out, weakened final furlong
raced wide in touch, pushed along over 3f out, weakened 2f out
keen, headway on outer to press leader over 4f out until ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
in rear, ridden 2f out, never nearer
hampered start, held up in rear, good headway 2f out, led approaching final furlong, soon clear, eased near finish, comfortable
pushed along to be close up, ridden and no impression 2f out, faded inside final furlong
went left start, keen, tracked leaders, ridden to chase leader over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong
dwelt, in touch, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and headway entering final furlong, stayed on
Pretty Bubbles is upped 3lb for winning at Lingfield but still makes more appeal than Bridge Builder, raised 7lb for landing a Class 6 sprint at the same track. Calypso Choir returns to 6f after placed efforts over 5f but hasn’t won since her racecourse debut back in 2015 while though Free Zone won a claimer at Chelmsford in November, he never threatened in this grade last time. Eljaddaaf landed a double on the all-weather last year and is not out of this but a speculative vote goes to the returning VERY HONEST, who also won twice over 6f in 2016 and has more scope than most of these off her current mark.
Pretty Bubbles 6-1 (9-5) Held up, headway entering final furlong, led inside final furlong, pushed out, won at Lingfield 6f hcp fll (4) pol in Dec beating Evening Starlight (8-3) by 3/4l, 8 ran.
Very Honest (IRE) 9-2 (9-7) Dwelt, soon prominent, chased winner after 1f until halfway, chased leaders, weakened 2f out, eased, last of 6, 28 1/4l behind Gravity Flow (9-7) at Windsor 6f hcp fll (4) gf in Aug.
Bouclier (IRE) 25-1 (8-13) In touch, ridden and weakened 2f out, 12th of 14, 15 3/4l behind Mithqaal (8-12) at Southwell 7f hcp (3) pol in Dec.
Free Zone 16-1 (9-6) Led, ridden over 1f, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home, 5th of 10, 3l behind El Viento (9-1) at Chelmsford City 6f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Calypso Choir 7-1 (9-1) Chased leaders, pushed along halfway, ridden and went 2nd inside final furlong until final 100 yards, kept on same pace in 3rd, 3rd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Outrage (9-9) at Kempton 5f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Equally Fast 40-1 (8-11) Mid-division, edged left and weakened inside final furlong, 11th of 12, 7 1/4l behind Oriental Relation (8-12) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp (3) pol in Dec.
Eljaddaaf (IRE) 9-1 (9-4) Held up towards rear, took keen hold, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, never dangerous, 6th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Holiday Magic (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Gold Club 7-1 (9-4) Keen, in touch, ridden 2f out, effort over 1f out, kept on same pace, 5th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Captain Dion (9-6) at Chelmsford City 6f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
Higher Court (USA) 14-1 (9-7) Led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, 2nd of 11, 1 1/4l behind Medicean El Diablo (8-13) at Chelmsford City 7f hcp (5) pol in Dec.
Bridge Builder 15-2 (9-4) Headway to lead over 4f out, ridden 2 length clear over 1f out, ran on, won at Lingfield 6f hcp (6) pol in Dec beating Colourbearer (9-6) by 2 1/4l, 10 ran.
