held up in rear, headway on inside over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, went 2nd near finish
tracked clear leader, closed 3f out, every chance when hung right 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
always behind, ridden 4f out, soon beaten
soon led, clear 8f out, reduced lead 3f out, ridden 2f out, headed and weakened over 1f out
held up in rear, lost touch final 3f, tailed off
tracked leaders in 3rd, closed 3f out, challenged and hung left from 2f out, led over 1f out, stayed on well
held up in 6th, ridden 4f out, soon beaten
raced in 4th, effort 2f out, soon ridden and weakened final furlong
raced in 5th, ridden 3f out, soon beaten
David Pipe makes a rare venture onto the flat here with Brastar Jelois and we will give this one the verdict ahead of Pagano and Speagle. The selection didn't take to hurdling at all but her flat form in the summer was excellent. She landed three races on the trot in her native France and if her enthusiasm hasn't been lost, she should go close in this company. Pagano is trained by another jumps trainer in Alan King and ended last year in great form with victories at Kempton and Wolverhampton. If transferring that form to the turf he will be a major threat. Speagle also ended last year in good style and may have needed a couple of recent outings, he should be capable of fighting for some place money. Flying Clarets may do best of the others but our idea of the winner is Brastar Jelois.
Fantoche (BRZ) 11-1 (9-4) Towards rear, ridden 3f out, no chance when hung left over 1f out, 7th of 10, 4l behind Sgt Schultz (8-10) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar.
Fregate Island (IRE) 11-1 (9-2) Tracked leader, ridden over 3f out, slightly outpaced over 1f out, ran on near finish, 3rd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Rationale (8-7) at Leicester 1m 3yo hcp (4) gd in Jul.
Brastar Jelois (FR) (8-13) won at Chantilly 1m 2f 3yo clm gd in Sept beating Marchand D'argent (8-13) by 2l, 17 ran.
Happy as Larry (USA) 16-1 (9-3) Towards rear, ridden over 3f out, never dangerous, last of 16, well behind Esthlos (8-6) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Mar.
Flying Clarets (IRE) 25-1 (9-3) Prominent until ridden and weakened over 2f out, 6th of 16, 13l behind Piety (9-5) at Newmarket 1m 4f fll hcp (3) gs in Oct.
Faith And Reason (USA) 33-1 (8-13) Chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 13th of 16, 23l behind Esthlos (8-6) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Mar.
Pagano (IRE) 5-4fav (8-13) Chased leader, led over 3f out, ridden and hung left inside final furlong, stayed on, won at W'hampton 1m 4f 3yo hcp (5) pol in Dec beating Night Cruise (9-4) by 2 1/2l, 6 ran.
Prince Charlemagne (IRE) 7-1 (8-9) Behind, headway over 1f out, ran on final furlong, nearest finish, 5th of 11, 3 1/2l behind I Have Dreamed (9-1) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar.
