mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
prominent, ridden over 2f out, led inside final furlong, headed , no extra close home
mid-division, smooth headway to lead over 1f out, ridden and soon hung left and headed inside final furlong, driven and rallied to lead close home
led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened
held up, ridden over 3f out, soon one pace
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
Dancing Lyra has quickly settled in at Richard Fahey's yard and can complete a quick double at the expense of Flighty Fellow, Dakota Rain and Emerald Bay. The going was pretty testing at Southwell last week but that did not stop Dancing Lyra from making an immediate impact on what was his first outing for the Richard Fahey stable. Twice a winner over 10 furlongs for John Hills, he was purchased by current connections at the autumn sales, and put in a very pleasing performance when successful over seven furlongs last week. His stamina came very much into play as he swept through from the back to score, and a small rise in the weights will not stop his follow up bid with another furlong to go at very much in his favour. The rest all return to the fray and it is a guessing game as to which will be fit enough to test the selection. Flighty Fellow and Emerald Bay have joint topweight to overcome, so it could well be that Dakota Rain will be the biggest threat. The Newmarket raider was successful over a mile on good ground at Nottingham last autumn, but his ability to handle cut is open to question. There are no doubts about Dancing Lyra though, and he is very much the one to beat.
Flighty Fellow (IRE) 9-1 (9-5) Held up, headway on inner 2f out, effort over 1f out, no impression, 6th of 7, 4l behind Royal Island (9-6) at Haydock 1m hcp (2) gf in Aug.
Emerald Bay (IRE) 4-1 (9-8) Mid-division, driven and effort over 3f out, ridden, no impression from over 1f out, 5th of 8, 9l behind Regent's Secret (9-6) at Hamilton 1m 1f hcp (4) gf in Aug.
Dancing Lyra 6-1 (8-6) Held up, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, led inside final furlong, ran on, won at Southwell 7f hcap (4) hvy beating Lucayan Dancer (8-2) by 4l, 14 ran.
Dakota Rain (IRE) 3-1jt-fav (9-1) Slowly into stride, raced keenly and soon tracked leaders, chased leader 3f out to 1f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 12, 6l behind Pinpoint (9-6) at Salisbury 1m hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Oct.
Kirkby's Treasure 12-1 (8-8) Mid-division, ridden 4f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 18, 4 1/2l behind Wyatt Earp (9-4) at Catterick 7f hcp (4) sft in Nov.
Amongst Amigos (IRE) 8-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, 6th halfway, 5th 2f out, no impression straight, 6th of 16, 6l behind Bay Boy (9-9) at Galway 7f hcp 0-80 hvy in Oct.
Cita Verda (FR) 10-1 (9-10) Mid-division, ridden over 4f out, no impression, 8th of 18, 9l behind Rotuma (8-9) at Ayr 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (D) gs in Oct '03.