tracked leaders, ran freely, 2nd halfway, led 2 1/2f out, ridden and headed 1 1/2f out, no extra in 4th 1f out, kept on one pace
held up towards rear, ridden to close on outer 2f out, stayed on into 3rd 1f out, no impression on leaders final furlong, kept on same pace
pushed along briefly to lead, headed 2 1/2f out, soon ridden and no extra, eased over 1f out
tracked leader, 3rd halfway, ridden to close 2f out, no extra over 1f out
pushed along briefly to track leaders, 4th halfway, ridden to close 2f out, led 1 1/2f out, soon drifted right, pressed and drifted right inside final furlong, kept on well under pressure
held up towards rear, ridden to close 2f out, stayed on into 2nd 1f out, pressed leader inside final furlong, held in 2nd closing stages
OKITA SOUSHI made a winning debut over 1m4f in 2021 and has never raced over a trip this short but he beat the in-form Firstman over 2m a fortnight ago. His stablemate San Andreas goes well here but he's never raced over a trip this far and ran over 6f last time so may be done for stamina. John Alexander is progressing nicely and followed a narrow defeat over this trip with a victory over 1m4f while Casanova has been racing in much better company and gave San Andrea 7lb when beaten less than two lengths last March - the pair race off level weights this evening.
Casanova 12-1 (9-9) In rear, ridden in 10th 2f out, went 7th 1f out, no impression, 6th of 12, 4 3/4l behind Power Under Me (9-12) at Leopardstown 1m lst stks (1) sft in Oct.
Cristal Clere (IRE) 7-1 (9-6) Led, narrowly headed after 1f, 2nd halfway, ridden over 2f out, no extra and weakened from over 1f out, 8th of 14, 8 1/2l behind Ransom (10-2) at Dundalk 1m hcp pol in Jan.
Dash Of Spice 66-1 (9-9) Raced in 4th, ridden over 2f out, no impression and kept on same pace from over 1f out, 4th of 5, 12 1/4l behind Okita Soushi (9-9) at Dundalk 2m pol in Feb.
John Alexander (IRE) 9-1 (9-8) Mid-division, ridden to progress 2f out, 2nd 1 1/2f out, disputed 1f out, led final 150 yards, kept on well, won at Dundalk 1m 4f hcp pol in Jan beating Je T'ai Porte (9-8) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
Okita Soushi (IRE) 8-11fav (9-9) Tracked leader in 2nd, pushed along to challenge over 2f out and soon led, ridden over 1f out and briefly edged left, stretched clear inside final furlong, comfortably, won at Dundalk 2m pol in Feb beating Firstman (9-9) by 4l, 5 ran.
San Andreas (IRE) 6-5 (9-13) Towards rear on outer, in rear from halfway, ridden from 2f out and soon went 3rd, kept on into 2nd inside final furlong, not threatening winner, 2nd of 5, 1 3/4l behind Harry's Bar (9-13) at Dundalk 6f pol in Feb.
