led, jinked badly left over 4f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
mid-division, ridden to lead over 1f out, kept on
mid-division, unseated rider 4f out
tracked leaders, hampered over 4f out, ridden over 2f out, every chance over 1f out, kept on and held towards finish
tracked leaders, lost place over 3f out,
in rear, hampered 4f out, kept on from over 1f out, one pace
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
mid-division, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, kept on
tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
A tricky opener with all of these stepping up in distance and several making their handicap debuts. But it would be no surprise if THE LINCOLN LAWYER, a half-brother to a winner over 1m4f, goes close as Mark Johnston’s charge showed some ability over a mile last year and was gelded over the winter. Airmax is another likely to last home along with Wild West Hero and Manor Park though the latter was still well beaten when runner-up at Chester in September. Lifeboat should be sharper for a recent comeback and is preferred to Masters Apprentice of the more exposed types.
The Lincoln Lawyer 3-1 (9-2) Led early, tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, hung left over 1f out, led inside final furlong, soon headed, no extra close home, 5th of 12, 3 1/4l behind Thunderbolt Rocks (9-2) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f stks (5) pol in Nov.
Manor Park 16-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, ridden to go 2nd 2f out, no chance with winner, one pace, 2nd of 6, 15l behind Spud (9-0) at Chester 1m stks (4) sft in Sep.
Lifeboat (IRE) 5-1 (8-11) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 5th of 11, 6l behind Ferik (8-11) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f stks (6) pol in Apr.
Airmax (GER) 4-1 (9-2) Mid-division, kept on final furlong, 4th of 11, 9 1/4l behind Mr Marrakech (9-2) at Kempton 7f stks (5) pol in Apr.
Masters Apprentice (IRE) 7-1 (8-10) In touch, ridden over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 5th of 8, 6 3/4l behind Baghdad (9-6) at Chelmsford City 1m 2f (5) pol in Nov.
El Borracho (IRE) 8-1 (9-4) Slowly into stride, held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, never going pace to get involved, 6th of 11, 4l behind Balletomane (9-9) at Kempton 1m hcp (5) pol in May.
Wild West Hero 33-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, driven over 2f out, soon beaten, 9th of 12, 8l behind Thunderbolt Rocks (9-2) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f stks (5) pol in Nov.
Spice War 100-1 (9-5) Led briefly, chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, hung right and weakened from 2f out, 8th of 14, 17 1/4l behind Adjutant (9-5) at Newbury 1m mdn stks (4) gs in Apr.
Stockings Lane (IRE) 33-1 (9-1) Close up, pushed along over 3f out, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 6, 12 1/2l behind Fayrouz Rose (9-4) at Brighton 1m 2f stks (6) gs in May.