held up behind leaders, not fluent 13th, ridden to chase leader before 4 out, 2nd but well adrift 2 out, stayed on without troubling winner flat
led, headed 3rd, led again 4th, joined 12th, ridden before 4 out, weakened before 3 out
pressed leader, led 3rd, headed 4th, upsides 12th, led before 14th, clear 4 out, in command last, pushed out
in rear but in touch, pushed along briefly before 10th, driven before 4 out, stayed on into modest 3rd 2 out, kept on
Schnabel's record of two wins and two pulled up runs from his last four starts makes him hard to assess, but we'll let him go as it's the last two efforts which delivered the non-completions. Plantagenet is well treated on the best of his form but has not looked the same horse he was for a while and is best watched too. Fact Of The Matter had a couple of starts last September after wind surgery but hasn't been seen since, which leaves OCEAN COVE as the selection, although to an extent by default. He has competed in much better races than this though throughout the season and his Doncaster success over 3m in February is the best form on show this term.
Ocean Cove (IRE) 11-2 (11-5) Mid-division on outside, closed 4th, hanging left from 12th, lost place before 4 out, 7th of 10, 17 3/4l behind Mac Tottie (11-0) at Newbury 2m 7f hcp (3) gs in Mar.
Fact Of The Matter (IRE) (10-7) 4th of 6, 21l behind Black'n Roses (10-6) at Vichy 3m 1f in Sep.
Schnabel (IRE) 16-1 (12-0) In touch, ridden and lost touch 3 out, pulled up, at Huntingdon 2m 5f hcp (4) gd in Apr.
Plantagenet 16-1 (11-5) Held up, pushed along and headway after 5 out, joined leaders 4 out, led before 3 out, headed 3 out, weakened, 4th of 9, 32 3/4l behind Hard To Forget (11-0) at Uttoxeter 3m hcp (4) gd in Apr.
