mid-division, effort centre and ridden 3f out, stayed on to press for 2nd final furlong, no chance with winner
took keen hold, always prominent, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, no impression final furlong but kept on to hold 2nd
behind, no chance from halfway
chased leaders, ridden 3f out and weakened quickly, tailed off
soon led, headed over 2f out, weakened quickly
in touch, effort 2f out, one pace
soon chased leader, led over 2f out, soon edged left, driven clear final furlong, eased near finish
pulled hard in touch, weakened rapidly halfway, tailed off
chased leaders to halfway, weakened rapidly, tailed off
Soulacroix looks head and shoulders above the rest and is a confident selection ahead of Redbank, with Misaro put up as a place possible. Amanda Perrett's juvenile Soulacroix has a Vodafone Derby entry and with Slip Anchor in the make-up, will improve over middle distances next year. In the meantime, he should prove up to the task here at least, having shaped with promise on all three starts, the latest of which was a second to Temple Place at Windsor. That form is not bad, and he should step up on it here. Redbank was in the slipstream of Byron and Balmont on his Newmarket debut but was subsequently out with the washing in a hot nursery at Doncaster. The selection apart, this is a lot easier and he looks booked for second place if he can reproduce his debut effort. There is another place up for grabs though and Misaro may be the one to fill it at a big price. Paul Blockley's charge was thrown in at the deep end on his Leicester introduction, lining up against two very good opponents. A slow start and a tendency to hang did not help matters and he was beaten out of sight. A big improvement is anticipated and he can repay each-way support, with Soulacroix proving very hard to beat indeed.
