held up tracking leaders in 5th, pushed along 3f out, headway chasing leaders over 2f out, carried right and plugged on same pace inside final furlong
held up last, steady headway out wide 3f out, ridden chasing leaders over 1f out, edged right inside final furlong, went 2nd final 100 yards and stayed on, never going pace to reach winner
tracked leaders on far rail, pushed along 4f out, weakened quickly 3f out
raced keenly, tracked leader until pushed along over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
led, joined 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, lost 2nd and no extra final 100 yards
John Leeper missed the break and then ran green at Doncaster in September but that was still a very promising first effort and it would be no surprise to see him get involved here getting 7lb from the previous winners with Ryan Moore doing the steering. SCOPE (NAP) also showed inexperience on debut at Newbury in October but stayed on strongly to land the spoils and that bodes well for this campaign. Al Waqidi and Daramethos were also first-time winners, at Wolverhampton and Chelmsford respectively, while Franco Grasso is a Frankel colt who is bred to win races over a mile and further.
Al Waqidi 4-7fav (9-5) Close up, pushed along briefly over 3f out, headway between horses over 1f out, left in lead approaching final furlong, ran on, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f mdn stks (5) pol in Nov beating Barenboim (9-5) by 2 1/4l, 10 ran.
Daramethos (IRE) 9-2 (9-5) Slowly away and towards rear, niggled along 4f out, headway on outer 3f out, improved to press for lead 1f out, ran on strongly to get up close home, won at Chelmsford City 1m 2f mdn stks (5) pol in Nov beating Orientalism (9-5) by 1/2l, 9 ran.
Scope (IRE) 16-1 (9-5) Dwelt, nudged along 3f out, headway to chase leaders 1f out, ran on well inside final furlong, led on line, won at Newbury 1m stks (4) hvy in Oct beating Mojo Star (9-5) by ns, 15 ran.
Franco Grasso Frankel colt out of Oakley Girl.
Tio Mio (IRE) 3-1 (9-5) Slowly away, mid-division, pressed leader 3f out, ridden and weakened 2f out, 8th of 9, 25l behind Rebel's Romance (9-5) at Newcastle 1m stks (5) pol in Oct.
Zoom Tiger (IRE) 33-1 (8-9) Midfield, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 4th of 11, 7l behind Mohaafeth (8-9) at Lingfield 1m stks (5) pol in Mar.
John Leeper (IRE) 8-1 (9-5) In touch, pushed along and lost place 2f out, hampered over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, 4th of 10, 3 1/4l behind Tawaareq (9-5) at Doncaster 7f mdn stks (3) gd in Sep.
