raced wide early, chased leaders on outside 3f, settled in touch in mid-division after, closed 5f out, ridden 3f out, driven in 2nd over 2f out, 5th and no extra over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
chased leaders on inside, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
held up towards rear, raced keenly, started raced keenly on downhill run about 12f out, headway over 2f out, edged right over 1f out, 3rd final furlong, no impression on winner, stayed on
held up rear of mid-division, not clear run and hampered 3f out, soon switched left, closed and switched right over 2f out, edged right and 3rd over 1f out, 4th and held inside final 150 yards, never any impression on winner
prominent over 3f, chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, lost place over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
led, ridden and headed over 3f out, lost place over 2f out, soon weakened
held up in rear, ridden and lost touch over 6f out, tailed off
raced wide early, held up towards rear, some headway and switched left over 2f out, 6th and no impression over 1f out, went well held 5th inside final furlong
held up towards rear, headway when hampered just over 2f out, no impression, well beaten over 1f out
mid-division, closed on outside over 4f out, lost place over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
pressed leader, led over 3f out, soon kicked clear off final bend, stayed on strongly inside final furlong, readily
pushed along leaving stalls, soon held up rear of mid-division, pushed along over 3f out, headway and switched right from final bend, went 2nd 2f out, edged left over 1f out, unable to make any impression on winner, stayed on
With Aidan having supplemented last year’s Epsom Derby winner Serpentine, the O’Brien clan are responsible for five of the 13 runners. Twilight Payment won his first Grade 1 in last year’s Melbourne Cup but was beaten by Donnacha’s Emperor Of The Sun in his final prep race at Leopardstown when Amhran Na Bhfiann was a disappointing favourite. Santiago was outpaced by Spanish Mission in the Yorkshire Cup and Andrew Balding’s stayer won the Doncaster Cup last year so stamina shouldn’t be an issue but none of these have really shown so far that they are ready to dislodge STRADIVARIUS’ crown. The Gosdens’ staying superstar bids for a fourth successive Gold Cup victory and everything appears to have gone to plan again this year given the seven-year-old won the Sagaro Stakes on the bridle on his return to action with Nayef Road, runner-up here 12 months ago, back in third. Subjectivist won the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in the autumn and the Dubai World Cup in March so may be the biggest threat, though Trueshan ran a race full of promise when giving weight to Japan in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester and he did win the Long Distance Cup over 2m here at the end of last season.
Nayef Road (IRE) 5-1 (9-2) Prominent, led after 2f, headed 4f out, soon weakened, last of 5, 36 3/4l behind Lismore (8-12) at Sandown 2m Grp 3 stks (1) sft in May.
Rip Van Lips (IRE) (9-0) won at Hoppegarten 2m Grp 2 stks (1) in May beating Memphis (8-9) by 2 1/2l, 13 ran.
Spanish Mission (USA) 11-2 (9-4) Broke well, steadied and held up, headway from 3f out, ridden 2f out, led 1f out, stayed on well, in command final 100 yards, won at York 1m 6f Grp 2 stks (1) gd in May beating Santiago (9-1) by 2 3/4l, 5 ran.
Stradivarius (IRE) 4-7fav (9-2) Held up in touch, switched left over 2f out, headway going well 2f out, went right when ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on well final furlong, won at Ascot 2m Grp 3 stks (1) gf in Apr beating Ocean Wind (9-2) by 1l, 6 ran.
Twilight Payment (IRE) 11-4 (9-12) Led, strongly pressed 3 1/2f out, soon headed, ridden and no impression on leader 1 1/2f out, dropped to 3rd 1f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 6, 5 1/2l behind Emperor Of The Sun (9-7) at Leopardstown 1m 6f lst stks (1) Good - Yielding in May.
Amhran Na Bhfiann (IRE) 5-4fav (9-7) Close up on outer, 2nd after 4f, switched left over 5f out, dropped to 5th over 4f out, reminder under 3f out, ridden over 2f out, no impression, kept on same pace to 4th close home, 4th of 6, 11l behind Emperor Of The Sun (9-7) at Leopardstown 1m 6f lst stks (1) Good - Yielding in May.
Ben Lilly (IRE) 7-2jfav (10-1) Held up towards rear, no impression when hung left final 2f, never on terms, 9th of 11, dist behind Raymond (9-8) at York 2m hcp (3) gd in May.
Emperor Of The Sun (IRE) 18-1 (9-7) Tracked leader in 2nd, 3rd after 4f, improved to 2nd over 4f out, strongly challenged leader 3 1/2f out, soon led narrowly, asserted under 2f out, ridden 1 1/2f out, ran on well, won at Leopardstown 1m 6f lst stks (1) Good - Yielding in May beating Search For A Song (9-7) by 3 1/2l, 6 ran.
Santiago (IRE) 9-4 (9-1) Chased leaders, closed 3f out, switched left over 2f out, switched right and every chance 1f out, no impression on winner final 100 yards, 2nd of 5, 2 3/4l behind Spanish Mission (9-4) at York 1m 6f Grp 2 stks (1) gd in May.
Serpentine (IRE) 10-1 (9-5) Chased leaders, 3rd halfway, pushed along 4f out, ridden and no extra 3f out, 7th of 8, 17 1/4l behind Helvic Dream (9-5) at Curragh 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) Soft - Heavy in May.
Subjectivist (8-9) won at Meydan 2m Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Mar beating Walderbe (9-1) by 5 3/4l, 11 ran.
Princess Zoe (GER) 6-1 (9-9) Bumped away from stalls, waited with, 7th halfway, soon pushed along, tight for room briefly from 4f out, raced towards outer into straight and some headway, soon no impression, kept on without threatening final furlong, 4th of 9, 8 1/4l behind Mighty Blue (9-2) at Gowran Park 1m 6f lst fll stks (1) Yielding in May.
Trueshan (FR) 9-4 (9-5) Dwelt, raced wide tracked leaders, led 3f out, ridden and headed inside final inside final furlong, stayed on, 2nd of 8, 3/4l behind Japan (9-0) at Chester 1m 5f Grp 3 stks (1) gs in May.
