steadied start, took keen hold, held up last, effort and hung badly right from 2f out, went modest 3rd near finish, never any chance
led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, stayed on same pace
chased leaders, pushed along halfway, ridden over 1f out, no impression inside final furlong, lost 3rd near finish
chased leader, ridden inside final 2f, led inside final furlong, ran on well, ridden out
steadied start, held up in last pair, weakened over 2f out
The ground may be a little too soft for Swiss Franc on his reappearance but he makes more appeal than veteran Matsunosuke, who returns from an even longer lay-off. Masked Dance hasn't shown much lately but Chilli Green should go close if handling the switch back to turf, though all of his wins so far have come on the Polytrack. BATCHELORS STAR can be forgiven his first run for Lee Carter over 5f at Epsom and will strip fitter here. He was a staying-on sixth on soft ground in decent company at the Curragh in October and a repeat of that effort would probably suffice here.
Swiss Franc 16-1 (9-7) Led, headed 3f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 14th of 15, 18l behind Sirius Prospect (8-10) at Doncaster 6f hcp 105 (2) gd in Sep.
Chilli Green 10-1 (8-6) Raced wide prominent, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, soon headed, kept on one pace, 3rd of 13, 2 1/4l behind Piscean (9-3) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Mar.
Batchelors Star (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Always towards rear, 11th of 14, 9l behind Cadeaux Pearl (8-11) at Epsom Downs 5f hcp 0-95 (3) sft in Apr.
Masked Dance (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, carried wide into straight over 3f out, weakened 2f out, 13th of 14, 24l behind Tariq Too (9-2) at Thirsk 7f hcp 0-90 (3) sft in Apr.
Matsunosuke 13-8 (9-9) Tracked leader and keen, ridden over 1f out, chased winner inside final furlong, always held, 2nd of 4, 1 1/2l behind Vhujon (8-8) at Kempton 6f clm stks (6) pol in Jan '11.