slowly into stride, pushed along towards rear, chased leaders over 2f out, went 2nd over 1f out, not reached winner
made all, ridden over 1f out, stayed on well
tracked winner until ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, faded 1f out
very slowly away, in rear and pushed along, never a factor, tailed off
tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden over 2f out, weakened well over 1f out
held up towards rear, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace
tracked leaders in 4th, ridden 1f out, soon weakened
A good race to finish with and the narrow vote goes to DEMONSTRATIVE ahead of Rjeef and Reallymissgreeley. Mark Johnston's son of Elusive Quality is a big strapping sort and it was no surprise to see him improve on his juvenile form when winning at Southwell on his reappearance. He is due to go up more than his 6lb penalty when reassessed and as long as he handles this shorter straight and more turning track then he could be hard to beat. Rjeef shaped with promise in three decent maidens last season and the booking of Seb Sanders catches the eye, Reallymissgreeley won narrowly here last time out but she beat a highly rated rival and as a result her handicap mark looks tough and it is interesting to see the cheek-pieces swapped for blinkers. The Glamour Cat is a course and distance winner but this ex-Irish filly needs to show that her abject run at Kempton last time was not her true running. Going French needs a market check as he tries blinkers for the first time, Count Bertoni is consistent and the handicapper has been kind with a 2lb drop in the weights, whilst Libertino would be interesting after a three month break if the market speaks in his favour. An interesting race, but in reality it looks a very good chance for Demonstrative to win again.
Demonstrative (USA) 11-4fav (9-4) Slowly into stride, soon chasing leaders, headway 3f out, led over 2f out, clear entering final furlong, easily, won at Southwell 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) fbs beating Premium Charge (8-1) by 4l, 6 ran.
Rjeef (IRE) 20-1 (9-0) Keen, tracked leader, ridden to lead over 2f out, soon headed, no extra inside final furlong, 5th of 14, 8l behind Markazzi (9-3) at Leicester 7f 2yo mdn (4) gf in Sep.
Reallymissgreeley (USA) 6-5 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, stayed on under pressure inside final furlong to lead towards finish, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Jan beating Royal Torbo (8-12) by nk, 4 ran.
The Glamour Cat (IRE) 5-2 (9-1) Held up in rear, ridden on outside and struggling over 2f out, last of 4, 23l behind Greyfriarschorista (9-2) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jan.
Going French (IRE) 13-8 (8-9) Led, joined after 2f, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 8, 3 1/2l behind R Woody (8-11) at Southwell 5f 2yo mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Dec.
Count Bertoni (IRE) 11-2 (8-11) Broke well, soon steadied to be held up in touch, good headway to press winner 2f out, ridden and every chance 1f out, unable to quicken near finish, 2nd of 9, nk behind Kumbeshwar (8-13) at Catterick 7f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Nov.
Itsthursdayalready 12-1 (9-3) Behind, headway over 1f out, never on terms, 6th of 7, 8l behind Highland Quaich (9-2) at Kempton 7f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jan.
Libertino (IRE) 3-1 (9-3) Chased leaders, pushed along over 2f out, one pace and no impression when lost 3rd inside final furlong, 4th of 10, 5l behind Hypnotized (9-3) at Kempton 7f 2yo mdn stks (4) pol in Nov.
