held up, good headway over 1f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong, readily
prominent, effort over 1f out, not quicken, one pace final furlong
led narrowly to 3f out, soon ridden and weakened over 2f out
held up in rear, never a factor
mid-division, in touch when ran wide bend 2f out, soon weakened
towards rear, switched right and headway over 1f out, ran on strongly inside final furlong to take 3rd, not reach leaders
reared start, behind, kept on final furlong, not trouble leaders
behind, ridden 2f out, kept on final furlong, never nearer
pressed leaders, led 3f out, ridden clear over 1f out, no extra and headed well inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, no extra, weakened quickly over 1f out
steadied start, switched left and held up in rear, kept on from over 1f out, never dangerous
in touch, ridden over 2f out, chased leaders, no impression final furlong
held up in touch on outer, ridden and weakened quickly over 2f out
slowly into stride, towards rear, headway 2f out, never nearer
In a competitive race, Ivory Lace is selected ahead of Foreplay and Hollow Jo. Ivory Lace has won off today's mark on Turf and, to be fair, has run some decent all-weather races from higher marks than today. You can certainly build the case for her. Foreplay and Dichoh are closely weighted based on recent Wolverhampton form but, with the former being better drawn today, he is preferred of the pair, although we concede that the latter is lightly raced and open to further improvement. Hollow Jo comes here on a roll and he can be considered under his penalty, although he does need to find more improvement if he is to win. Finally, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Grimes Faith will rediscover his best form in first-time headgear and Quantum Leap has won from a higher mark and is the type to pop up at any point; however, for today, we will side with Ivory Lace.
Grimes Faith 20-1 (8-13) Always behind, never on terms, 10th of 12, 8l behind Bomber Command (8-9) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Dec.
Will He Wish 25-1 (8-12) Chased clear leader until over 1f out, 6th of 11, 2 1/2l behind Mina A Salem (9-1) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Dec.
Hammer of The Gods (IRE) 14-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders and keen, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 10th of 12, 6l behind First Order (9-2) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Lethal 12-1 (9-2) Steadied start, held up in touch, improved to go 3rd 2f out, ridden and ran on to lead inside final furlong, won at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec beating Louphole (9-2) by 2 1/2l, 9 ran.
Foreplay (IRE) 5-1 (9-2) Held up, headway over 1f out, shaken up approaching final furlon, stayed on, not reach winner, 2nd of 8, 3/4l behind Writ (8-8) at W'hampton 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
Dichoh 7-1 (9-2) Slowly into stride, in rear, steady headway over 2f out, hung right 2f out, kept on to lead inside final furlong, won at Kempton 7f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Dec beating Evident Pride (9-9) by 1l, 13 ran.
Vanadium 10-1 (9-1) Switched left start, held up in rear, ridden and headway well over 1f out, ran on, 4th of 12, 3/4l behind Figaro Flyer (9-0) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
Hollow Jo 7-2fav (9-6) Went right start, tracked leaders, led inside final 2f, stayed on well, driven out, won at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Dec beating Muscari (8-7) by 1/2l, 11 ran.
