always rear division
started slowly, behind, never a factor
tracked leader, ridden to lead briefly over 1f out, rallied to regain lead inside final furlong, ran on
led, ridden along halfway, headed over 1f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
held up behind leaders, ridden over 2f out, driven and one pace final furlong
chased leaders, effort over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
soon outpaced and towards rear, chased along halfway, some late headway, never reached challenging position
Majestical can land the opener, with Pappas Image and Blakeshall Quest also worth noting in the betting. That said, Alexander Huricane could do no more than win on his debut 17 days ago, so also has to be a serious contender even though his odds are likely to be very skinny for one with so much to prove. Alexander Huricane carried a huge price tag when purchased as a juvenile and expectations were high when he finally made his racecourse debut last month. He duly won but took a lot of stoking along to do so. A sixth furlong ought not to be a problem for the Kevin Ryan-trained colt, but as he was very green on debut he makes limited appeal at cramped odds. Admittedly, the likes of Blakeshall Quest and Pappas Image are exposed as ordinary and both can be hard to predict. Still they are wily characters and could easily take a race of this nature were they to put their minds to the task in hand today. However, Majestical just gets the nod on this occasion. The Vince Smith-trained six-year-old coped well on his only previous visit to Southwell and he makes far more appeal than Alexander Huricane from a potential return on investment point of view.
Bodden Bay 20-1 (9-1) Chased leader 4f, 14th of 16, 24l behind Border Artist (8-13) at Yarmouth 7f hcap (6) gd in Sept.
Majestical (IRE) 14-1 (10-8) Steadied start, effort over 1f out, came wide into straight, ran on, 5th of 7, 3 1/2l behind Crimson Fern (11-1) at Lingfield 6f amt hcp (6) pol in Jan.
Soba Jones 5-2fav (8-8) Held up in touch, ridden halfway, stayed on well towards finish, 5th of 9, 1l behind Tenancy (8-7) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-50 (6) fbs in Jan.
Blakeshall Quest 15-2 (8-7) Led, ridden halfway, headed over 1f out, stayed on under strong pressure, 2nd of 9, hd behind Tenancy (8-7) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-50 (6) fbs in Jan.
Alexander Huricane (IRE) 2-7fav (9-3) Slowly into stride, soon chasing leaders, ridden halfway, hard ridden and stayed on to lead close home, won at W'hampton 5f mdn aut stk (6) pol in Jan beating Kilvickeon (9-3) by a nk, 4 ran.
Pappas Image 7-2jt-fav (8-12) Prominent, chased leader halfway, ridden and every chance over 1f out, no extra final furlong, 3rd of 10, 3l behind Sherjawy (8-12) at Southwell 5f sll (6) fbs.
Cadogen Square 20-1 (8-8) Soon led, headed 3f out, soon weakened, 7th of 8, 26l behind Ruffie (8-2) at Southwell 1m fll hcp (6) fbs.
Favouring (IRE) 8-1 (8-9) Led, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 12, 13l behind Rubilini (9-0) at Southwell 1m app stk (7) fbs in Jan.
Time Share (IRE) 9-1 (8-5) Led early, prominent, not much room and switched right over 3f out, no headway final 2f, 6th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Crimson Fern (9-10) at W'hampton 6f fll hcp (6) pol in Jan.
