towards rear, ridden 4f out, soon outpaced and beaten
slowly into stride, held up, ridden over 2f out, no impression on leaders, kept on same pace final furlong
held up mid-division, ridden to chase leaders 2f out, no impression, weakened over 1f out
in touch, ridden over 3f out, no impression on winner, kept on well to take 3rd
held up mid-division on outer, ridden 3f out, soon weakened and beaten 2f out
held up rear, slightly hampered over 2f out, kept on from over 1f out, never dangerous
tracked leaders, hard ridden 4f out, soon lost place and eased over 1f out
made all, led, driven clear inside final 2f, ridden out, unchallenged
held up rear, ridden and switched left over 2f out, some progress from over 1f out, never nearer
tracked winner, ridden over 3f out, effort over 2f out, soon no chance with winner, kept on under pressure and held on for 2nd
Courageous Duke may well be better than recent form figures would suggest but Jeremy Noseda's runner represents little value at the forecast odds and preference is for Obrigado, who gets the vote with Road To Love rated the best of the rest. The selection has been unfortunate not to have a won a race previously this term, latterly when finding just I Have Dreamed too good at Sandown, but the William Haggas-trained gelding may be worth another chance here with Paul Hanagan taking over in the plate. London Express has struggled against the handicapper since making a winning reappearance, while Bustan has not won for over four years and is hard to back with confidence. Kamanda Laugh is better than he showed in the Victoria Cup here last time and may be worth another chance although a bigger threat is likely to come from Road To Love, who may have found his latest start coming too soon after a good win at Sandown the time before. Obrigado has been knocking on the door recently though and is taken to gain a deserved success here.
Compton Bolter (IRE) 33-1 (9-2) Settled behind, ridden along over 4f out, outpaced 2f out, soon weakened, 14th of 16, 13l behind I'm So Lucky (8-7) at Ascot 1m 2f lst hcp (1) gf in Jun.
Bustan (IRE) 50-1 (9-8) In touch, led over 2f out, headed approaching final furlong, no extra inside final furlong, 6th of 20, 2 1/2l behind Fairmile (8-12) at York 1m 2f hcap (2) gf.
Kamanda Laugh 20-1 (9-1) Raced alone in centre course, in touch until weakened quickly over 2f out, last of 20, 29l behind Partners In Jazz (9-1) at Ascot 7f hcap (2) gd in May.
Obrigado (USA) 11-4fav (9-9) Held up 3rd, chased winner over 2f out, but no impression from over 1f out, 2nd of 5, 3l behind I Have Dreamed (9-1) at Sandown 1m 2f hcp 0-90 (3) gf.
Cruise Director 66-1 (8-5) Always behind, never a factor, 15th of 19, 12l behind Young Mick (8-8) at Ascot 1m 4f hcp 0-105 (2) gf in Jun.
Road To Love (IRE) 9-2 (9-0) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon hampered and weakened, 12th of 14, 16l behind Formal Decree (8-13) at Newmarket 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-105 (2) gf.
Regent's Secret (USA) 11-4fav (9-7) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, headway under pressure over 1f out, stayed on to chase winner inside final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Whitethorne (9-4) at Carlisle 1m hcp 0-80 (4) gf.
Chancellor (IRE) 40-1 (8-3) Held up, plenty to do straight, headway on outside over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, driven out, won at Epsom 1m 2f hcap (2) gd in Jun beating Look Again (8-0) by 3/4l, 17 ran.
