led, ridden and headed 3f out, soon outpaced by winner
chased leader, pushed along to lead 3f out, through clear final 2f
chased leaders, pushed along over 4f out, one pace final 2f
always behind, driven along halfway, lost touch final 4f, tailed off
in touch, headway on inside over 5f out, weakened quickly over 3f out, tailed off
pulled hard, tracked leaders, one pace final 2f
behind, driven along halfway, soon lost touch, tailed off when pulled up and dismounted over 3f out
An interesting finale in which Last One Standing and Divy are vulnerable under penalties and we could see either BLUE ABBEY or Silver Footnote make a winning debut. Divy has been well backed on both outings and was a shade unfortunate not to collect at Stratford on debut but readily made amends over course and distance last month. He makes more appeal than Last One Standing who proved to be out of his depth in a Listed race at Cheltenham in November. Smooth Classic finished runner-up in an Irish point to a horse that has gone on to win races for Paul Nicholls and he represents a yard that has enjoyed success in this sphere in the past. Silver Footnote makes some appeal on paper and would be of interest if attracting support but Blue Abbey ticks all the right boxes. He represents leading connections, is a half-brother to the top class Asian Maze and it would be no surprise to see him make a winning debut.
Last One Standing 33-1 (11-4) Mid-division, pushed along 6f out, soon dropped rear, behind final 4f, last of 12, 34l behind Shinrock Paddy (10-13) at Cheltenham 2m Listed NH flat (1) sft in Nov.
Divy (FR) 11-8fav (10-10) Made all, clear 4f out, unchallenged, very easily, won at Plumpton 2m 2f mdn NH flat (6) gd in Mar beating Mist Chances (10-3) by 19l, 10 ran.
Blue Abbey (IRE) Blueprint gelding out of Mazuma.
Mixed Fortunes 125-1 (11-4) Mid-division, ridden halfway, soon weakened, 11th of 15, 46l behind Tocca Ferro (10-7) at Wincanton 2m mdn NH flat (5) sft in Mar.
Shahbash 6-1 (12-0) Mid div, went 6th from 6th, lst tch in 8th 5out, bhd next, pu 3out, in a race won by Unique Flyer (12-0) at Farnanes 3m ire ptp in May, 16 ran.
Smooth Classic (IRE) 5-2 (11-7) Ww rr, prog to 5th 4out, 4th 3out, went 2nd btwn last 2, chall & ev chance when hmprd last, no ex flat, 2nd of 6, 2l behind Tataniano (11-7) at Belharbour 2m ire ptp in Feb '08.
Katellen 100-1 (9-12) Went right start, reluctant to race, always tailed off, last of 14, well behind Scandal (10-2) at Lingfield 1m 5f 3yo nhf (6) sft in Nov.
Yes Minister (IRE) 14-1 (10-11) Tracked leaders, tracked leader halfway, weakened over 3f out, 11th of 14, 29l behind Hudibras (10-9) at Lingfield 2m NH flat (6) gd in Mar.
Silver Footnote Silver Patriarch gelding out of Mavourneen.
