always rear division
held up towards rear, made some moderate headway final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on one pace inside final furlong
in touch, driven along over 2f out, soon weakened
held up in rear, headway on inside 2f out, every chance approaching final furlong, one pace inside final furlong
held up in mid-division, driven to challenege over 1f out, led just inside final furlong, stayed on well
led, ridden and headed inside final 2f, weakened final furlong
pressed leader, led inside final 2f, headed just inside final furlong, stayed on same pace
always in rear, well behind final 3f
chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
KAVALOTI is selected ahead of Alnwick and Mighty Moon amongst others. The selection has been raised by 4lbs for his recent course and distance success which was his first since arriving from France. He'd been a shade frustrating prior to that but that victory may have boosted his confidence sufficiently to enable him to follow up. Mighty Moon is an interesting contender for Richard Fahey as he's weighted to be competitive and has run some decent races over obstacles during the winter; he's unexposed on the all-weather. Sandwiched between Wabbraan's two Southwell victories was a poor run at Lingfield which raises doubts about his ability to reproduce his best form on this surface and the likes of Mr Aitch and Miss Serena could emerge as bigger dangers. Alnwick must also rate highly as he goes really well over course and distance but he doesn't win often enough for our liking. He's weighted to get the better of the selection on their running in January but it's just possible that he's feeling the handicapper's grip after a good sequence last season so we'll side with Kavaloti instead.
War of The Roses (IRE) 7-1 (8-10) Held up in touch, ridden 2f out, pressed leaders entering final furlong, not quicken towards finish, 6th of 8, 1 1/4l behind Sgt Schultz (9-6) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Mar.
Crossbow Creek 25-1 (9-12) Led 1f, stayed tracking leader to over 3f out, ridden and effort over 2f out, no extra and one pace from over 1f out, 6th of 9, 6l behind Dance The Star (9-4) at Kempton 1m 4f app hcap (4) pol in Oct.
Salute (IRE) 7-1 (9-4) Tracked leaders, quickened to lead over 2f out, stayed on gamely when pressed entering final furlong, ran on well and in command final 100 yards, won at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar beating Pass The Port (9-8) by 1 1/4l, 7 ran.
Mighty Moon 9-2 (9-9) Held up in rear, headway over 2f out, chased winner final furlong, kept on towards finish, 2nd of 9, 3/4l behind Puy D'arnac (9-8) at Ayr 1m 7f hcap (4) hvy in Nov.
Mr Aitch (IRE) 14-1 (9-13) Held up in rear, headway over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, challenging over 1f out, soon intimidated by rival jockey's whip and carried right, weakened towards finish, 3rd of 9, 6l behind Laurel Creek (10-0) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar.
Kavaloti (IRE) 13-8fav (9-8) Held up in 7th, headway under pressure to track leading pair 2f out, led over 1f out, driven out, won at Kempton 2m hcp 0-75 (5) pol beating Augustus John (9-6) by 2l, 9 ran.
Alnwick 9-2 (9-9) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, stayed chasing winner, no extra inside final furlong, lost 2nd final strides, 3rd of 8, 2 1/4l behind Greenwich Village (9-13) at Kempton 2m hcap (4) pol in Jan.
Wabbraan (USA) 8-1 (8-3) Chased leader, led 5f out, pushed along well over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon in command, won at Southwell 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Mar beating Benedict Spirit (8-8) by 4 1/2l, 7 ran.
Mohawk Star (IRE) 10-1 (9-11) Held up in mid-division, headway over 4f out, went 2nd over 2f out until weakened inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 6l behind Bank On Benny (9-3) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp (5) pol in Nov.
Miss Serena 11-1 (9-2) Led, headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 4th of 9, 10l behind Laurel Creek (10-0) at Wolverhampton 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar.
Land 'n Stars 66-1 (8-13) Always in rear group, never a factor, 10th of 12, 17l behind Desert Sea (8-13) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-105 (2) pol in Mar.
