dwelt keen held up, headway 2f out, ridden and kept on one pace final furlong
dwelt held up in touch, effort 2f out, weakened final furlong
close up, pushed along 4f out, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
steadied start, in rear, pushed along and headway inside final furlong, ran on, nearest finish
dwelt close up, pushed along to chase winner 2f out, no impression towards finish
tracked leader, lost action 3f out, soon eased and pulled up
led after 2f, pushed along and headed 2f out, weakened final furlong
led 2f, tracked leaders, left 2nd 3f out, led again 2f out, ridden out
Scarlet Dragon could only manage fourth in this last year and is 3lb higher but Koeman has been raised only 2lb for winning at Wolverhampton with Red October well behind. Soghan has been in good form over 2m and is fitted with additional headgear today while the Pirate King missed out on a hat-trick off today’s mark at Kempton and Furzig looks high enough in the weights returning to 1m4f. But dual novice winner AL ZARAQAAN is the least exposed having defied a penalty to win at Kempton last month and the Haggas colt looks worth sticking with now handicapping.
Scarlet Dragon 9-2 (10-0) Steadied start, held up in rear, good headway far rail chasing leaders over 3f out, going well over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 8, 6 3/4l behind Humanitarian (9-12) at Newbury 1m 4f hcp (2) gd in Sep.
El Ghazwani (IRE) 12-1 (9-11) Dwelt in touch, pushed along and headway 2f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 7, 5 1/2l behind Highwaygrey (9-7) at Pontefract 1m 2f hcp (4) gd in Sep.
Koeman 11-1 (9-12) Dwelt, held up in last pair, closer on outside over 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, switched right and sustained run inside final furlong, led towards finish, won at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (3) pol in Dec beating The Trader (9-9) by nk, 7 ran.
Furzig 9-1 (9-5) Dwelt close up in rear, pushed along 2f out, ridden and edged left entering final furlong, ran on to go 3rd close home, 3rd of 5, 1 1/4l behind Yes My Boy (9-4) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (2) pol in Dec.
Pirate King 9-2 (9-8) Tracked leaders, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace, 4th of 5, 3 1/4l behind Johnny Drama (9-9) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp (2) pol in Nov.
Soghan (IRE) 4-1 (8-10) Set steady pace, shaken up and quickened pace approaching 2f out, ridden inside final furlong, headed towards finish, 2nd of 9, 1/2l behind Rock Eagle (9-8) at Kempton 2m hcp (2) pol in Nov.
Red October (IRE) 7-1 (9-7) Led, ridden over 1f out, headed entering final furlong, weakened soon after, 5th of 7, 4 1/4l behind Koeman (9-12) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (3) pol in Dec.
Al Zaraqaan 8-15fav (9-9) Slowly into stride, soon racking leaders, smooth headway on outside over 3f out, led well over 2f out, edged left and ridden final 2f, ran on well, won at Kempton 1m 3f stks (5) pol in Nov beating Shining Example (9-2) by 2l, 8 ran.
