led, hard driven over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, stayed on same pace
steadied start, pulled hard in rear, headway under pressure over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong
tracked leader, raced keenly, ridden to challenge over 1f out, soon short of room, faded final furlong
settled in rear, headway over 1f out, soon chasing leaders, led inside final furlong, ran on well
steadied start, raced freely towards rear, headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, headed closing stages, kept on
chased leaders, ridden to challenge over 1f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leader, driven halfway, lost action and pulled up 2f out
MERCERS ROW won last year's renewal off the same mark. He arrives in fine form having scored at Thirsk on his latest start and a bold bid is expected. Advance is up in class after scoring at Newcastle recently while Old Man Clegg and Janaab have both fallen prey to Birdman of late with the former weighted to come out best on collateral form. The losing run of Lazarus Bell stretches back to 2012 now but Chiswick Bey and Imperator Augustus are steadily slipping back down towards a winning mark.
Lazarus Bell 9-1 (9-4) Led 1f, tracked leader until 6f out, prominent, chased new leader over 2f out until well over 1f out, chased leading pair until over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 5th of 9, 8l behind Light Of Asia (9-1) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gs.
Old Man Clegg 4-1 (8-9) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 10, 5l behind Best Trip (9-3) at Catterick 7f hcp 0-80 (4) sft.
Janaab (IRE) 4-1fav (9-1) Tracked leader 2f, went 2nd again well over 2f out until ridden over 1f out, 4th and one pace inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 4l behind Hydrant (8-12) at Thirsk 1m hcp 0-75 (5) sft.
Chiswick Bey (IRE) 14-1 (8-9) Towards rear, ridden over 2f out, never dangerous, 7th of 13, 9l behind Hopes N Dreams (9-6) at Hamilton 6f hcp 0-80 (4) sft.
Mercers Row 16-1 (8-13) Steadied and switched left start, held up in rear, not clear run over 2f out until switched left entering final 2f, chased leaders over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, stayed on, won at Thirsk 7f hcp 0-65 (6) sft beating Sakhalin Star (9-5) by nk, 13 ran.
Imperator Augustus (IRE) 5-1 (9-7) Virtually refused to race, always tailed off in rear, took no part, last of 10, well behind Findog (8-9) at Musselburgh 7f hcp 0-65 (6) gf.
Advance (FR) 3-1fav (9-12) Chased leaders, pushed along over 2f out, went 2nd over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on well, won at Newcastle 7f hcp 0-60 (6) gs beating Shesnotforturning (8-13) by 2 1/4l, 13 ran.