held up in rear, headway to lead after 6f, made rest until narrowly headed approaching final furlong, rallied gamely to regain lead inside final furlong, caught near finish
in touch, weakened 3f out
tracked leader until after 6f, stayed prominent, went 2nd again over 4f out, outpaced final furlong
took keen hold in mid-division, stayed on final 2f, never going pace to reached leaders
took keen hold, held up in 7th, lost place over 4f out and soon well behind
pulled hard, held up in rear, effort 6f out, weakened over 4f out and soon well behind
took keen hold in mid-division, weakened over 2f out
took keen hold, chased leaders, weakened over 3f out
tracked leaders in 4th, driven to lead narrowly approaching final furlong, headed inside final furlong, not quicken towards finish
set steady pace, headed after 6f, stayed prominent, weakened over 2f out
held up towards rear, headway on wide outside over 2f out, chased leaders final furlong, stayed on gamely to lead near finish
raced in 6th, went 2nd 5f out until over 4f out, weakened quickly, virtually pulled up final 2f tailed off
held up in rear, last and plenty to do in straight, headway on outside over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, too much to do
Cover Up is taken to secure a fourth Royal Ascot success, with Baddam, Dancing Bay and Ebtikaar all expected to be left trailing in his wake. With stamina to burn, it is hard to look beyond Cover Up in the final race of the 2006 Royal meeting. He has already won this stamina-sapping contest twice, in 2002 and 2003, and as he had earlier been successful in the Ascot Stakes, now bids for a fourth victory here. Add to those exploits a gallant second in last year's Queen Alexandra when it was run at York and it is hard to see just who is going to stop him. Sir Michael Stoute's nine-year-old returned this year with a narrow win in the Sagaro Stakes at Lingfield, but was never going a yard when well beaten in soft ground at Sandown next time. Make no mistake, he will be a different proposition here with conditions very much in his favour, and with regular pilot Kieren Fallon on board, he looks banker material. Baddam caused a shock when landing the Ascot Stakes on Tuesday but it is doubtful if he can repeat the feat twice in five days, while Dancing Bay earned another crack at this with a fair fourth in the Chester Cup, but fast ground will be against Nicky Henderson's charge. Ebtikaar needs to prove himself over this trip and at this level, while Avalon has been ultra-disappointing since going over hurdles. Basically, there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide here, with stamina a key factor, and as Cover Up has that in abundance, he can gallop to another Royal success in the finale.
Cover Up (IRE) 11-4fav (9-2) Never travelling well in rear, driven and no response over 2f out, last of 7, 22l behind Tungsten Strike (9-2) at Sandown 2m Grp 3 (1) hvy in May.
Considine (USA) 200-1 (7-12) Held up in touch, weakening when hampered over 5f out, 24th of 34, 33l behind Sergeant Cecil (9-8) at Newmarket 2m 2f hcp (2) gs in Oct.
Corrib Eclipse 5-1 (9-3) Prominent, ridden 6f out, every chance 2f out, not quicken towards finish, 2nd of 7, 3/4l behind Swift Sailor (8-10) at Pontefract 2m 2f stk (3) gs in Sept.
Dancing Bay 20-1 (9-5) Slowly into stride, soon mid-division, headway over 3f out, ridden 2f out, ran on inside final furlong, 4th of 17, 1 1/2l behind Admiral (8-1) at Chester 2m 3f hcap (2) gf in May.
Dovedon Hero 9-1 (10-9) Slowly away, held up in rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, led inside final furlong, headed last 50 yards, 2nd of 11, 3/4l behind Richtee (10-5) at York 1m 4f amt hcp (4) gf.
Dubai Sunday (JPN) 16-1 (9-13) In touch, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, 11th of 12, 48l behind Arbella (9-7) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol in Apr.
Establishment 16-1 (8-8) Mid-division, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 3f out, 14th of 29, 22l behind Baddam (9-2) at Royal Ascot 2m 4f hcp 0-95 (2) gf.
Three Counties (IRE) 100-1 (8-2) Always rear, outpaced over 3f out, last of 7, 19l behind Balkan Knight (8-9) at Goodwood 1m 4f stk (3) gf.
Vinando 10-3 (9-2) Held up in 6th, driven along and beaten over 2f out, 5th of 7, 10l behind Tungsten Strike (9-2) at Sandown 2m Grp 3 (1) hvy in May.
Avalon 10-1 (8-12) Held up in 5th and off the pace, pushed along early straight, driven and stayed on to take 3rd 1f out, no chance with front pair, 3rd of 6, 7l behind Distinction (9-7) at Newbury 1m 5f lst stk (1) sft in May.
Baddam 33-1 (9-2) Held up towards rear, steady headway on outside from 6f out, led just inside final 2f, clear over 1f out, stayed on strongly, won at Royal Ascot 2m 4f hcp 0-95 (2) gf beating Top The Charts (8-12) by 5l, 29 ran.
Brendan's Surprise 33-1 (8-6) Chased leader until over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 10, 13l behind Cottingham (8-8) at W'hampton 1m 1f banded stk (7) pol in May.
Ebtikaar (IRE) 9-2fav (9-2) Held up, ridden and headway when not clear run 2f out, not clear run again over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, 5th of 15, 3l behind Toldo (8-4) at Ascot 2m hcp 0-105 (2) sft in May.
