pushed along to chase leaders, ridden over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong, soon eased
prominent, headway over 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, kept on well towards finish
slowly away, in rear, kept on from over 1f out, never able to challenge
always behind
mid-division, headway 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on to take 2nd place final 50 yards, always held by winner
chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden well over 1f out, never dangerous
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon weakened
held up mid-division, ridden over 1f out, soon faded
always towards rear
slowly into stride, pushed along towards rear, effort 2f out, never dangerous
mid-division, reminders over 3f out, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on same pace
mid-division, weakened 3f out
towards rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on same pace inside final furlong
Dazeen ran well over an inadequate trip at Southwell on his reappearance and is entitled to respect here, while Lindoro has enjoyed something of a revival lately. Legal Legacy, Ryedane and So Bazaar should win races this year but may just need this, and Grand Stitch has been found wanting on both previous occasions he's been tried over this trip. Trans Sonic is 9lb higher than when successful over C&D last year and has been racing over further in general on Fibresand lately so the selection is SMALLJOHN. Bryan Smart's five-year-old is only a pound higher than when just failing to hold off Avonrose at Wolverhampton earlier this month and is equally effective on this surface.
Trans Sonic 4-1 (8-13) Led, driven clear over 2f out, strongly challenged inside final furlong, held on under pressure, won at Southwell 1m hcp 0-85 (4) fbs beating The Lock Master (8-12) by ns, 8 ran.
Smalljohn 8-1 (8-5) Soon led, ridden over 1f out, kept on under pressure when hard pressed inside final furlong, headed narrowly towards finish, 2nd of 10, hd behind Avonrose (8-9) at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Masked Dance (IRE) 10-1 (8-9) Soon pushed along in rear, ran on final furlong, not reach leaders, 4th of 8, 2 1/4l behind Elhamri (9-0) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-80 (4) fbs in Feb.
Legal Legacy 8-1 (8-3) Slowly away, raced wide soon in touch, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, 11th of 12, 11l behind Amethyst Dawn (8-9) at Musselburgh 1m hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Oct.
Raleigh Quay (IRE) 8-1 (9-6) Always in rear, 13th of 16, 14l behind Sharp Sovereign (9-1) at Pontefract 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.
Frognal (IRE) 25-1 (9-0) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, no impression over 1f out, soon weakened, 10th of 11, 7l behind Illustrious Prince (9-4) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Sep.
April Fool 9-1 (8-9) Led, ridden 2f out, headed well inside final furlong, 3rd of 12, 1 3/4l behind Follow The Flag (9-6) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Ryedane (IRE) 18-1 (9-4) Mid-division on outside, ridden and outpaced when hung left over 1f out, no impression, 9th of 13, 6l behind Hulcote Rose (9-5) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Grand Stitch (USA) 3-1fav (8-12) Ridden to lead, pushed over 2 lengths clear 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 5th of 6, 4 1/2l behind Grudge (9-3) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
So Bazaar (IRE) 11-4 (9-5) Led, ridden over 1f out, headed close home, 2nd of 7, shd behind Verluga (8-12) at Carlisle 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in Jul.
Politbureau 8-1 (9-11) Held up, ridden and hung right over 2f out, never dangerous, 7th of 11, 13l behind Countermarch (7-12) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f mdn stks (5) pol.
Violent Velocity (IRE) 10-1 (8-5) Held up in touch, effort over 2f out, soon one pace, last of 5, 7l behind Eastern Hills (8-6) at Southwell 1m hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Dec.
Lindoro 10-3 (9-4) Raced wide, mid-division, headway and edged left over 1f out, stayed on one pace, 3rd of 13, 2l behind Mata Hari Blue (9-2) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-60 (6) fbs.
Dazeen 33-1 (8-8) Outpaced in rear, headway on wide outside from 2f out, ran on, nearest finish, 3rd of 12, 6l behind Where's Reiley (9-0) at Southwell 5f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs.
Fazza 20-1 (8-13) Took keen hold and wide in mid-division, effort on outside ridden and not quicken over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 12, 5l behind Requisite (9-4) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Oct.
