led, ridden over 1f out, kept on until headed and no extra well inside final furlong
raced keenly in touch, chased leader 6f out to over 2f out, soon no extra
raced keenly, held up behind, outpaced over 4f out, kept on under pressure final 2f, never near leaders
held up in rear, headway 3f out, 3rd over 1f out, ridden and stayed on well to lead, well inside final furlong, held on
always prominent, went 2nd over 2f out, ridden and effort over 1f out, stayed on well towards finish
Nonrunner
Sir Arthur, Fabrian, Augustine and Royal Flynn form the short list here, with the selection being Royal Flynn. Starting from the top and Snowed Under is on a winning mark from last summer now but has yet to seem quite as effective under testing conditions. By contrast, Sir Arthur won his maiden on heavy and ran well recently from today's mark when just denied by Zaif over course and distance. French import Gloucester will have to build on his British debut if he is to feature but he proved he could handle soft in his former land. Princess Cocoa is now six pounds above the rating of her 2006 course and distance success and may have needed her seasonal return, but she has never encountered going as deep as today's (which was specified as soft at the 48-hour stage). Fabrian is now rated two pounds lower than for his October Leicester win and he looked to be coming back to form last time so cannot be ruled out. Augustine can also be considered given that he is a course and distance winner that now runs from four pounds below his April 2006 course and distance victory. Royal Flynn will love the conditions and is just two pounds above a winning rating and he would have gone closer if he'd got going a little earlier at Newcastle last time. Finally, Advancement has a bit to prove on form but, that said, he could improve over today's longer trip. As you can gather, it's a tricky, if interesting, affair, in which we make Royal Flynn the selection.
Sir Arthur (IRE) 8-1 (9-4) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, 12th of 17, 22l behind Oddsmaker (9-6) at Carlisle 1m 3f hcp 0-80 (4) gs in Jun.
Gloucester 11-2 (9-4) Soon led, headed 5f out, ridden along over 3f out, weakened 2f out, last of 5, 31l behind Charlotte Vale (8-3) at Thirsk 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) gs in Jun.
Princess Cocoa (IRE) 3-1 (9-7) Chased leaders in rear, ridden over 2f out, never dangerous, last of 3, 8l behind Magic Echo (9-2) at Beverley 1m 2f fll hcp (4) gs in Jun.
Augustine 2-1fav (9-6) Led, set steady pace, hard pressed from over 2f out, headed 1f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 7, 2l behind Great View (9-7) at Newbury 1m 3f app hcp (5) hvy.
Royal Flynn 7-2fav (9-4) Pulled hard in rear, ridden and headway 2f out, stayed on strongly inside final furlong, 3rd of 11, 2l behind Thornaby Green (8-4) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) sft in Jun.
Advancement 14-1 (8-8) Towards rear, effort 3f out, no impression, 6th of 9, 9l behind Moody Tunes (9-11) at Haydock 1m hcp 0-90 (3) hvy in Jun.
Snowed Under 9-1 (8-10) In touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Sound of Nature (9-4) at Leicester 1m 2f hcap (4) gf in May.
Fabrian 13-2 (9-7) Pulled hard, chased winner, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 4th of 9, 6l behind Prize Fighter (9-7) at Leicester 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Jun.
