mid-division, ridden 3 out, soon weakened
held up in touch, headway after 3 out, ridden to chase leader 2 out, disputed lead last, led flat, all out
led and set good pace, driven when mistake and headed 2 out, not recover
held up tracking leaders, chased leaders 3 out, weakened 2 out
held up in rear, steady headway when hit 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, disputed lead last, all out when headed flat
in touch until ridden and lost place 6th
keen in rear, mistake 1st, some progress when mistake 3 out, weakened soon after
held up towards rear, ridden and staying on from 3 out, weakening when mistake last
held up rear, brief effort after 3 out, no further impression
tracked leaders and keen, ridden and weakened after 3 out
towards rear, driven along and weakening when fell 5th
A good start to a quality card in which Nation State gets the nod from a shortlist that also contains Courant d'Air and L'Oudon. Courant d'Air sets the benchmark for the form here following his 13-length fourth to the smart Cerium at Cheltenham in November. Diego Cao's second to Woody Valentine last time is also solid form although the winner let the form down a little last time, admittedly on soft going in a Grade 1 affair, at Chepstow. Iron Man is another who can give us a handle on the value of the form, although his penalty could make life difficult for him today. Nation State also carries a penalty for his Plumpton win but he looked impressive there and could be decent at this game. The likes of the French imports Nadover, trained by Charlie Mann, and the Paul Nicholls-trained L'Oudon, have also to be afforded respect, while the formerly-useful Flat runner Quarrymount showed plenty of promise on his Newbury debut. As we say, though, in a good start to the day, we will side with Nation State.
