held up, headway over 3f out, ridden 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong
tracked leaders, weakened 2f out
led, headed over 2f out, soon weakened
held up mid-division, weakened over 3f out
held up, headway 3f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up in touch, headway 3f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, stayed on under pressure
tracked leaders, led over 2f out, headed over 1f out, one pace
tracked leader, ridden 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong
steadied start, held up in rear, ridden 4f out, never dangerous
behind, ridden over 4f out, never dangerous
CLASSIC CONTOURS can return to the winners' enclosure here as he is preferred to Royal Trooper, Albaasha, Spartan Prince and Northside Prince in what looks a fairly long and dangerous shortlist. John Quinn's gelding only went down by a head at Beverley last time out, when losing out in a driving finish to the Richard Fahey-trained Antigua Sunrise. He has to race off a 2lb higher mark today which makes life tougher but he is still fairly unexposed and his young jockey evidently gets on well with him. Royal Trooper was well-held behind Mons Calpe on his recent run at Beverley and needs to improve on that run, although the form has been franked since. Sham Sheer may be better than his mark of 70 and the step up in trip may suit; the trainer has put young Michael Murphy on well-handicapped horses before. Spartan Prince was put in his place last time out at Redcar but is still open to improvement although there are doubts over this trip, as there may be for Deauville Flyer and Reel Bluff. A visor is tried on Albaasha who has so far been frustrating, whilst Dispol Diva is one of only two horses in the race to have won over this distance. There are some potential improvers here so the race has its pitfalls however the sturdiest option looks to be top-weight Classic Contours.
Classic Contours (USA) 11-2 (8-11) Held up behind leaders, ridden over 2f out, driven approaching final furlong, ran on to lead briefly near finish, headed post, 2nd of 12, hd behind Antigua Sunrise (9-3) at Beverley 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
Sham Sheer 9-1 (8-13) Raced centre, mid-division, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 11th of 19, 18l behind Open Sesame (9-1) at Newmarket 1m 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in May.
Spartan Prince (USA) 16-1 (9-2) Chased leader, led after 2f, headed well over 2f out, no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 6l behind Topolski (9-7) at Redcar 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Apr.
Dispol Diva 16-1 (9-1) Prominent, effort over 2f out, one pace until weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 12, 5l behind Antigua Sunrise (9-3) at Beverley 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
Night Lily (IRE) 13-2 (8-10) Tracked leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed just inside final furlong, no extra towards finish, 4th of 12, 2 3/4l behind Bombina (8-13) at Newmarket 1m flls hcp (5) gf in May.
Deauville Flyer 8-1 (8-9) Held up, ridden and outpaced over 3f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 9, 7l behind Gilded Age (8-9) at Newcastle 1m 4f 3yo & 4yo mdn (5) gf in Apr.
Northside Prince (IRE) 11-2 (8-13) Tracked leaders, effort when outpaced over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, 4th of 12, 1 3/4l behind Antigua Sunrise (9-3) at Beverley 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
Albaasha (IRE) 7-1 (9-3) Towards rear, ridden halfway, never near to challenge, 5th of 13, 21l behind Lady Luachmhar (8-12) at Ripon 1m 1f 3yo mdn (5) gs in May.
Reel Bluff 50-1 (9-3) Mid-division, switched stand side over 2f out, never dangerous, 9th of 12, 12l behind Misty Glade (9-2) at Catterick 6f 2yo hcp 0-65 (6) gd in Oct.
Cooperman 250-1 (9-3) Towards rear, never dangerous, 10th of 13, 35l behind Native Ruler (9-3) at Pontefract 1m 2f 3yo mdn (5) gd in Apr.
Royal Trooper (IRE) 9-2 (9-0) Held up, headway and not much room when switched left over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, 3rd of 9, 12l behind Mons Calpe (8-10) at Beverley 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
