held up towards rear, good headway out wide chasing leaders 7f out, went 2nd 5f out, ridden and lost 2nd 1f out, chased leaders, weakened final 150 yards
led after 1f, went clear 12f out, reduced lead 5f out, went clear again over 1f out, reduced lead inside final furlong, headed and no extra final 110 yards, weakened into 3rd towards finish
raced keenly in mid-division, steady headway out wide 3f out, stayed on inside final furlong, went 2nd towards finish, not reach winner
mid-division on inside, headway between horses entering final furlong, kept on same pace in 4th
held up off the pace towards rear, headway chasing leaders 5f out, ridden and went 2nd 1f out, closed to lead final 110 yards, readily
raced keenly towards rear, never involved
held up in rear, never on terms
dwelt, soon chasing leaders, outpaced over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong
reluctant and led to post, steadied and switched left start, held up off the pace in last pair, headway out wide 3f out, wide home turn, ridden and outpaced when hung left over 1f out, plugged on
always towards rear
led 1f, chased leader until 10f out, went 2nd again 7f out until 5f out, chased leaders, outpaced over 2f out, weakened soon after
chased leaders, went 2nd 10f out until 7f out, chased leaders, outpaced over 2f out, never dangerous after
Celtic Classic has changed stables since landing a Wolverhampton seller a fortnight ago. He had the short-priced favourite Leroy Brown almost 10 lengths behind that day though the latter is expected to do much better. Denable had been running poorly until a much better run over the trip at Southwell though remains winless in 16 starts. Metal Man's two career victories have been over hurdles, the latest in 2020, while Dolly McQueen has won selling hurdles at Plumpton and Taunton in recent weeks. HANNALITE was beaten just over a length by Smith over the track and trip in November but was then 11 lengths behind that winner on a return visit. She would be the one to beat on that penultimate run so gets the nod.
Cabalgata (IRE) 33-1 (9-0) Dwelt and rear, ridden and no impression over 2f out, kept on one pace final furlong, 11th of 15, 6 1/2l behind Walking On Glass (9-7) at Galway 2m hcp Yielding in Jul.
Aleatoric (IRE) 40-1 (9-7) Led, went well clear 10f out, reduced lead 6f out, headed and ridden over 4f out, weakened rapidly, soon lost touch, tailed off, last of 9, dist behind Beat The Breeze (9-13) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Denable 17-2 (9-4) Raced wide in touch, headway 2f out, ridden and stayed on to go 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 10, 1/2l behind Gustave Aitch (8-10) at Southwell 2m hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Celtic Classic (IRE) 9-2 (8-13) Always handy, led and edged left over 1f out, hard pressed, driven out, won at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp (6) pol in Dec beating Cafe Milano (8-10) by nk, 9 ran.
Metal Man (IRE) 6-1 (9-1) Slowly into stride, headway tracking leader after 2f, led narrowly halfway, ridden and headed inside final furlong, soon lost 2nd, lost 3rd post, 4th of 10, 3l behind Phoenix Aquilus (10-1) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Leroy Brown 6-5fav (8-11) Soon led, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened from over 1f out, 6th of 9, 9 1/2l behind Celtic Classic (8-13) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Dolly McQueen 2-1 (10-11) In rear, in touch, headway to be prominent after 3 out, pushed along home turn, led narrowly 2 out, ridden and kept on well to assert run-in, won at Taunton 2m (5) gd in Dec beating Olly's Folly (10-12) by 1 3/4l, 5 ran.
Hannalite 6-1 (8-12) Keen held up, pushed along and headway 2f out, ridden to chase clear winner approaching final furlong, kept on one pace, 3rd of 12, 10 3/4l behind Smith (9-7) at Lingfield 2m hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Miss Pollyanna (IRE) 66-1 (8-12) Raced wide in rear, in touch 5f out, ridden to chase clear winner over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 12, 14 3/4l behind Smith (9-7) at Lingfield 2m hcp (6) pol in Nov.
Tilsworth Sammy 66-1 (8-10) Keen led, pushed along and headed over 2f out, soon lost place, last of 8, 17 3/4l behind Northern (8-6) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Iconic Mover 33-1 (8-8) Raced wide held up, outpaced 4f out, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, never nearer, 7th of 14, 10 1/2l behind Spanish Hustle (9-4) at Brighton 1m 2f hcp (6) gf in Oct.
Emanate 12-1 (8-3) Led until narrowly headed halfway, pressed leader, pushed along over 3f out, lost 2nd inside final 2f, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 10, 10 1/4l behind Phoenix Aquilus (10-1) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
