tracked leaders, lost place 9th, ridden 13th, behind when mistake 15th
tracked leaders, led approaching 4 out, ridden 2 out, stayed on
in touch, effort 15th, weakened 4 out, behind when pulled up before 2 out
held up, headway after 15th, ridden to go 3rd approaching 2 out, kept on one pace
prominent, led 13th, ridden and headed approaching 4 out, weakened when mistake next
held up, headway 15th, went 2nd 4 out, ridden 3 next, stayed on towards finish
led, blundered and headed 13th, soon ridden and weakened from 15th, behind when pulled up before last
Homme De Fer is well regarded by connections, can boast a course and distance win, looks suited by the ground, goes well fresh and is the TEAMtalk selection to hold off the recent Kempton winner Restless Wind and the useful but inconsistent Midnight Gunner. The former won well just over a week ago on slower ground and although is a consistent sort he may be too high in the weights at present. The latter has yet to recapture his form of a couple of seasons ago and the feeling is he is better suited by further these days. Cassia Heights rarely runs a bad race and will plug on to take advantage of any weaknesses in his rivals but looks unlikely to win. Meander is the last one worth considering seeing as he goes well fresh and has shown the ability to handle this course. He is still relatively inexperienced over fences and this looks likely to count against him here.
