held up, headway over 1f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong, kept on
prominent, effort when not much room over 2f out and again over 1f out, ran on final furlong, nearest finish
dwelt and towards rear, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up, headway 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
towards rear, driven along halfway, never near to challenge
in touch, ridden 2f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong
towards rear, never a factor
in touch, ridden 2f out, soon beaten
in touch, pushed along halfway, weakened over 1f out
King's Gait has conditions to suit and can beat the likes of Coleorton Dancer, Plateau and Millennium Force to name but three. This is one of those tricky handicaps that usually come about at the start of the Turf season, and plenty of guesswork is required regarding fitness. In the hope that King's Gait has had enough work put into him, we nominate Tim Easterby's charge as the answer. He really came to himself last backend when blinkers were applied, scoring at Musselburgh before finishing a very creditable second to the in-form Reverence at Doncaster despite being drawn on the 'wrong' side of the track. Well drawn here, and with the soft ground in his favour, King's Gait would appear as good a choice as any in an open event. Coleorton Dancer also likes cut in the ground, and although out of luck during the second half of the campaign, Kevin Ryan's inmate was unlucky to collect at Newmarket in the summer when hanging in the closing stages. The winner of that race, Resplendent Glory, went on to Group and Listed success, so Coleorton Dancer should pay to follow when conditions suit. Dandy Nicholls has three entries here, and the one carrying the least weight is Plateau who limbered up for this by finishing third on the Lingfield Polytrack last week. He will strip fitter but looks held by the selection on a line through Reverence, and all in all King's Gait would appear to have more going for him than most.
Philharmonic 66-1 (9-2) Mid-division stands' side, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened, 17th of 27, 8l behind Presto Shinko (9-2) at Ayr 6f hcp (2) gd in Sept.
Coleorton Dancer 100-1 (9-0) Chased leaders far side, weakened over 1f out, 20th of 27, 10l behind Presto Shinko (9-2) at Ayr 6f hcp (2) gd in Sept.
Millennium Force 7-2jt-fav (8-10) Never reached challenging position, 7th of 12, 8l behind Stetchworth Prince (9-0) at Nad Al Sheba 7f hcp gd in Feb.
King's Gait 10-1 (9-0) Led stands' side group, ridden over 1f out, kept on but no chance with winner, 2nd of 21, 3 1/2l behind Reverence (8-5) at Doncaster 5f hcp 0-100 (2) hvy in Oct.
Pieter Brueghel (USA) 11-1 (8-9) Chased leaders stands' side, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 21st of 27, 10l behind Presto Shinko (9-2) at Ayr 6f hcp (2) gd in Sept.
Inter Vision (USA) 16-1 (8-10) Held up behind leaders stands' side, effort over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 15th of 23, 12l behind Ice Planet (8-7) at Ripon 6f hcp 0-105 (2) gs in Aug.
Idle Power (IRE) 10-1 (9-0) Prominent and keen, faded final furlong, 10th of 13, 4l behind Chateau Nicol (9-4) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Big Hassle (IRE) 22-1 (8-11) Always behind, 9th of 11, 21l behind Tony James (8-11) at York 6f 2yo Grp 2 (A) sft in Aug '04.
Johnston's Diamond (IRE) 12-1 (9-2) Raced wide, prominent, lost place well over 1f out, 12th of 13, 14l behind Fyodor (9-3) at W'hampton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
Glaramara 8-1 (8-11) Chased leaders, hung left and every chance over 1f out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 10, 3 1/2l behind Wessex (8-11) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-100 (2) fbs in Feb.
Plateau 7-1 (9-1) Prominent, ridden over 2f out, slightly outpaced, stayed on again inside final furlong, never nearer, 3rd of 8, 2l behind Saviours Spirit (8-13) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
