made all, ridden and in command final 2f, ran on well
held up last, switched to outside and headway to go 2nd over 1f out, soon hard driven and no impression final furlong
slowly into stride, soon in touch, ridden and no impression final 2f
prominent on outside, pushed along 3f out, no impression final 2f
in touch, effort on inside and driven 2f out, soon one pace and no impression
chased leaders over 4f
in touch, pushed along 3f out, one pace and no impression final 2f
Aldora would hold solid claims if able to reproduce her best form but Mick Ryan's mare has not been sighted since winning the Princess Elizabeth Stakes in June 2003 and a safer bet looks to be Tarfah, who is preferred to Imperialistic. Trainer Gerard Butler has been patient with the selection, who was un-raced as a juvenile but quickly made up for lost time when making a winning debut at Ascot in July. Subsequent victories at Windsor and back at Ascot confirmed her ability and the daughter of Kingmambo remains open to further improvement. Nassiria showed progressive form on the all-weather in the autumn but needs to improve again to win this and of more interest may be Imperialistic, who has ground conditions to suit and holds claims if fit for her return. Aldora cannot be ruled out despite her long absence but Tarfah has a progressive profile and gets the vote.
Tarfah (USA) 4-1 Tracked leaders, led approaching 2f out, pushed clear 1f out, hard ridden final furlong, kept on, won at Ascot 1m lst fll hcp (A1) gf in Sept beating Golden Island by a hd, 13 ran.
Aldora 3-1 Soon prominent, hard ridden over 2f out, challenged approaching final furlong, led and quickened inside final furlong, readily, won at Epsom 1m 1f lst fll stk (A) gd in Jun '03 beating Londonnetdotcom by 1 1/2l, 8 ran.
Dumnoni 6-1 Steadied start, always in rear, outpaced 3f out, weakened, tailed off, 9th of 10, 41l behind Bettalatethannever at Epsom 7f stk (D2) gd in Oct.
Imperialistic (IRE) 16-1 Towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, headway over 2f out, ridden and no extra final furlong, 6th of 14, 8l behind Mango Mischief at Doncaster 1m 2f lst fll stk (A1) sft in Nov.
Milady's Pride 10-1 Made all, ridden over 1f out, held on well, won at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp (E3) pol beating Point Of Dispute by 1/2l, 12 ran.
Najaaba (USA) 9-1 Behind, headway 3f out, soon ridden, kept on one pace final 2f, not trouble leaders, 6th of 8, 4l behind Boot 'n Toot at Lingfield 1m 2f fll hcp (D2) pol.
Weecandoo (IRE) Always towards rear; ridden 1000m out; 8th straight; never troubled leaders, 9th of 10, 22l behind Greys Inn at Nad Al Sheba 1m 4f stk gd.
