held up in rear, never going well, weakened over 2f out, heavily eased final furlong
held up, ridden and headway approaching 2f out, edged left and stayed on towards finish
led, ridden and headed 3f out, weakened 2f out
tracked leaders, went 2nd over 7f out, led 3f out, soon ridden along, headed final strides
held up in rear, ridden and headway 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong
in touch, improved from over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on to lead final strides
tracked leader to over 7f out, remained close up, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
Nonrunner
Alicante ran too badly to be true at Thirsk last time following his previous successes at Hamilton and Yarmouth and she may be worth another chance but the ground may be faster than ideal for Sir Mark Prescott's filly and a better bet looks to be FUNDAY, who gets the vote ahead of Straits of Hormuz. Mark Johnston's filly, a Pontefract maiden winner on her second start, has probably found the ground softer than ideal in her two starts in handicaps since then and she should do better on the fast ground today. Mick Easterby's Upton Seas may struggle under the penalty for his win at Ripon last time as she now returns to 1m4f and of more interest may be David Lanigan's Brilliana, who clearly appreciated the step up to this trip when winning a Bath maiden on her latest outing. John Dunlop's Zaaqya should be thereabouts again but may just be a shade high in the weights, while Michael Bell's Halfway House has paid the penalty for his win at Folkestone in July and is another that now seems too high in the handicap. John Gosden's Lively Fling probably found the going softer than ideal at Doncaster last time and that run is probably best ignored but he needs to recapture his early season form to trouble the selection, Funday. Gary Moore's filly has shown a consistent level of form, including in handicaps, has no problems with the trip or ground and she looks worth siding with off the same mark as when narrowly beaten here over 1m2f last month.
Zaaqya 4-1fav (8-10) Held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, stayed on well, never nearer, 3rd of 12, 2 1/2l behind Oasis Knight (8-7) at Newbury 1m 5f hcp 0-90 (3) gf in Aug.
Lively Fling (USA) 20-1 (9-6) Held up, pushed along over 3f out, never dangerous, 9th of 10, 31l behind Red Cadeaux (9-6) at Doncaster 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Aug.
Straits of Hormuz (USA) 10-3 (8-4) Tracked winner to over 1f out, slightly outpaced, driven and rallied towards finish, 3rd of 7, 3l behind Remember Ramon (9-6) at Newmarket 1m 4f hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Jul.
Brilliana 10-3 (8-12) Made all, ridden over 1f out, soon well clear, eased near finish, unchallenged, won at Bath 1m 4f mdn stks (5) gd in Aug beating Rougham (9-3) by 6l, 8 ran.
Halfway House 10-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, headway on inside 5f out, not clear run over 2f out, soon ridden and no impression, 6th of 8, 7l behind Acquisition (9-0) at Salisbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Aug.
Funday 5-2fav (8-12) Led after 2f, ridden 3f out, challenged from over 1f out, headed well inside final furlong, stayed on, 2nd of 7, nk behind Cill Rialaig (9-8) at Epsom Downs 1m 2f hcp 0-90 (3) gd in Aug.
Upton Seas 5-1 (9-6) Tracked leader, ridden 3f out, stayed on to lead 1f out, drew clear towards finish, won at Ripon 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Aug beating Speed Dating (9-4) by 4l, 8 ran.
Alicante 8-11fav (9-13) Led, steady pace over 8f out, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon beaten, last of 10, 41l behind Upton Seas (8-11) at Thirsk 1m 4f fll hcp (5) gd in Jul.
