led, ridden over 2f out, hung left, bumped rival and headed inside final furlong, held towards finish
held up, headway over 2f out, driven over 1f out, soon edged left, stayed on same pace inside final furlong
pulled hard, tracked leaders, went 2nd over 2f out, challenged from over 1f out, bumped and led inside final furlong, ran on
held up, pushed along over 3f out, outpaced over 2f out, soon weakened
tracked leader until over 2f out, edged left and beaten 4th over 1f out, weakened
A tight handicap as a 5lb weight spectrum demonstrates. AFFINA has topweight but deservedly so and finished a respectable third behind Preening in what reads a better race than the one she contests here. Her juvenile form was progressive and that latest outing suggested she's ready to strike. Culdrose remains a maiden but is improving with each run and it's interesting her handler chooses to travel the handicap route rather than land an ordinary maiden. Boreagh Lass may have needed her reappearance run in late-May, Melodies looks where the handicapper wants her and Litigation is hard to be confident about due to inconsistency.
Affina (IRE) 12-1 (9-5) Led, soon joined, headed over 1f out, no extra closing stages, 3rd of 9, 6 1/2l behind Preening (9-7) at Sandown 1m hcp fll (4) gf in Jun.
Litigation 13-2 (8-12) Held up, ridden and headway over 1f out, no impression final furlong, 5th of 9, 5 1/2l behind George (9-1) at Goodwood 1m hcp (4) gf in Jun.
Melodies 9-4fav (9-6) Prominent, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 4th of 5, 6 3/4l behind Paramount Love (8-11) at Nottingham 1m hcp fll (4) sft in May.
Boreagh Lass (IRE) 20-1 (8-13) Behind, stayed on inside final furlong but never any chance, 6th of 7, 5 1/2l behind Bungee Jump (9-3) at Chepstow 6f hcp (4) gf in May.
Culdrose 6-4fav (9-4) Tracked leaders, led after 1f, ridden over 1f out, headed and unable to quicken inside final 150 yards, 2nd of 7, 3/4l behind Choral Music (8-12) at Leicester 1m hcp fll (5) gf in Jun.