mid-division, headway over 5f out, soon chasing leaders, hard driven over 2f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on well
held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, stayed on well, never nearer
held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, chased leaders over 1f out, never on terms
led until over 1f out, soon rallied, no extra close home
steadied in rear, never a factor
always prominent, ridden to challenge over 3f out, led over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, not pace of winner
mid-division, headway over 4f out, weakened over 2f out
raced keenly, soon in touch, lost place over 3f out
chased leaders, hard driven over 4f out, kept on same pace final 2f
mid-division, headway under pressure over 2f out, never able to challenge
pulled hard in rear, headway over 3f out, chased leaders over 2f out, faded final furlong
Nonrunner
Not easy to be over-enthusiastic about the claims of WARDEN BOND with the gelding arriving with a career record of no wins in 17 starts. However, he's also in really good heart at present and seems sure to give his running on all recent evidence. Certainly a repeat of his recent third to Fire In Babylon at this track augurs well for his chances here off an unchanged mark and he's taken to finally get off the mark. At the age of eight and with 80-odd races under his belt, Resplendent Alpha has suddenly been reinvented as a middle-distance campaigner but has more than taken the step up in trip in his stride with a couple of very decent performances. He's a danger to all in this grade, whilst naturally any money for the Barney Curley-trained Allanit must be taken seriously. Tony Carroll has made a pleasing start to 2012 and his useful performer in this grade, Cane Cat, completes the shortlist.
Super Duplex 10-1 (9-3) Held up towards rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression, 8th of 9, 9l behind Rivas Rhapsody (9-3) at Kempton 6f hcp (0-65) (6) pol in Nov.
Cloudy Start 7-1 (8-5) Held up in rear, ridden over 2f out, soon no impression, 6th of 8, 1 3/4l behind Irons On Fire (8-7) at Lingfield 1m 2f 4yo clm stks 0-70 (6) pol.
Cane Cat (IRE) 16-1 (8-11) Towards rear, headway between horses over 2f out, stayed on to modest 3rd over 1f out, kept on to press for 2nd, 3rd of 11, 3 1/2l behind Megalala (9-4) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp (0-65) (6) pol in Nov.
Allanit (GER) 33-1 (9-0) Led, headed over 3f out, lost place 2f out, weakened final furlong, 9th of 12, 27l behind Megalala (9-1) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec.
Resplendent Alpha 5-1 (9-1) Very slowly away, in rear, headway over 2f out to go 4th, went 3rd over 1f out, went 2nd inside final furlong, kept on and not reach winner, 2nd of 6, 4l behind Whodunit (9-5) at Lingfield 1m 2f app hcp 0-65 (6) pol.
Abigails Angel 8-1 (8-7) Raced wide towards rear, headway on outside over 3f out, went 2nd appproaching final furlong, closed gradually towards finish, always held, 2nd of 9, 3/4l behind Shared Moment (8-8) at Lingfield 1m fll hcp (0-75) (5) pol.
Bengal Tiger 40-1 (8-10) Towards rear, ridden over 3f out, well beaten over 1f out, last of 9, 16l behind Nibani (8-13) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Indus Valley (IRE) 15-2 (8-11) Chased leaders, pushed along over 3f out, soon lost place, 10th of 11, 27l behind Spes Nostra (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec.
Kucharova (IRE) 33-1 (8-13) Held up in touch, headway on inside over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, every chance inside final furlong, kept on same pace, 3rd of 7, 2 1/2l behind Storm Runner (8-5) at Lingfield 1m 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Dec.
Warden Bond 10-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, every chance 1f out, unable to quicken, 3rd of 13, 2 3/4l behind Fire In Babylon (9-1) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-52 (6) pol.
Tous Les Deux 50-1 (9-0) Took keen hold, mid-division, saddle slipped and headway to lead 7f out, soon clear, headed over 2f out, soon weakened, 12th of 13, 27l behind Fire In Babylon (9-1) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-52 (6) pol.
Lady Ellice 80-1 (8-7) Raced wide, always in rear, 12th of 13, 24l behind Mataajir (8-7) at Southwell 7f hcp (6) fbs in Dec.
