slowly into stride, behind, kept on 2f out
slowly into stride, behind, weakened final furlong
chased leaders, weakened over 1f out
in touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on to lead inside final furlong, driven out
chased leaders, weakened over 2f out
held up, one pace from over 1f out
towards rear, stayed on final 2f
led, headed inside final furlong, weakened towards finish
towards rear, ridden and headway well over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, not reached winner
chased leaders, outpaced over 2f out
mid-division, outpaced halfway
A hatful of these can be given a chance, so selecting Ancient Cross is made in the assumption that he can deliver a performance out of his top drawer. Handsome Falcon and Alexander Hurricane will be waiting in the wings to pounce on any weaknesses, while Spinning again gets his ground and, as he is much better than he has consented to deliver in his last two starts, the top weight cannot be discounted. However, the selection has a bit more room to manoeuvre from his current mark and, as Ancient Cross is far less exposed then the majority of his rivals over this trip, the Mick Easterby-trained gelding has a solid chance of finding the necessary improvement to score at this level.
Spinning 12-1 (9-6) Switched right soon after start, held up, never troubled leaders, 10th of 14, 12l behind Charlie Tipple (8-12) at Redcar 1m hcap (3) gd.
Alexander Huricane (IRE) 4-1jt-fav (9-10) Tracked leaders, headway to lead over 1f out, ridden and kept on final furlong, won at Newcastle 7f hcp 0-75 (5) sft beating Charles Parnell (9-9) by 3/4l, 10 ran.
Wovoka (IRE) 14-1 (9-0) Mid-division, never troubled leaders, 11th of 14, 12l behind Charlie Tipple (8-12) at Redcar 1m hcap (3) gd.
Handsome Falcon 7-2fav (9-12) Mid-division, ridden 2f out, headway over 1f out, challenged inside final furlong, just failed, 2nd of 9, nk behind Mr Toshiwonka (9-3) at Beverley 7f hcp 0-75 (5) sft.
Atabaas Pride 2-1jt-fav (9-7) Held up behind leaders, ridden along 3f out, driven 2f out, soon beaten, 4th of 5, 20l behind Gala Casino Star (8-12) at Beverley 1m 3yo hcp (4) gs in Jul.
Shy Glance (USA) 15-2 (9-7) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, soon weakened, tailed off, last of 10, 40l behind Grandad Bill (8-4) at Ayr 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) gs.
Ancient Cross 6-4fav (9-8) Held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, 2nd of 11, 1l behind Deira Dubai (8-12) at Redcar 7f mdn 0-70 (5) gf in Jul.
Ninefineirishmen (IRE) 20-1 (8-11) Chased winner, ridden over 2f out, lost place over 1f out, soon weakened, 10th of 12, 19l behind Horatio Carter (8-9) at Carlisle 7f 3yo hcp (4) gd.
Moheebb (IRE) 12-1 (8-11) Behind, headway 4f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, last of 10, 7l behind Nine Stories (9-0) at Ripon 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Jul.
Chin Wag (IRE) 7-2 (9-3) Close up, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, eased final furlong, 5th of 7, 10l behind Five Wishes (8-13) at Hamilton 1m clm (6) sft.
Govenor Eliott (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened approaching final 2f, last of 12, 17l behind Last Sovereign (9-11) at Newmarket 1m hcp 0-75 (5) gs.
Middlemarch (IRE) 33-1 (8-8) Always behind, 13th of 14, 17l behind Charlie Tipple (8-12) at Redcar 1m hcap (3) gd.
Champain Sands (IRE) 9-1 (8-8) Held up in rear, headway over 1f out, not much room entering final furlong, switched right and stayed on towards finish, 3rd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Major Magpie (9-7) at Pontefract 1m hcp 0-80 (4) gd.
