held up in touch, ridden to chase winner over 4f out to 2f out, stayed on until weakened final furlong
held up behind, ridden over 4f out, no progress and weakened 2f out
held up in touch, lost place over 5f out, soon beaten
held up mid-division, led after 6f, pressed over 2f out and over 1f out, stayed on strongly final furlong
tracked leader to halfway, weakened 3f out
held up behind, lost touch over 4f out, soon beaten
close up until ridden and weakened over 3f out
prominent, ridden along 4f out, kept on, not pace to challenge
in touch, ridden halfway, soon lost touch, weakened over 3f out
prominent, headway to chase winner 2f out, every chance over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, just held on for 2nd
never better than mid-division
slowly into stride, in rear, some headway 4f out, not reached leaders
held up mid-division, ridden over 4f out, soon behind
led at steady pace, headed after 6f, stayed prominent until weakened 2f out
towards rear, headway over 2f out, ran on well final furlong, just failed for 2nd
The three-year-old Irish Blade comes into this in better form than his rivals and is taken to give weight away all round under Richard Johnson, with Henry Island and Madiba rated the main dangers. The selection has been raised another 9lbs for his recent Salisbury success but that looks fair and this progressive son of Kris can follow up. Another three-year-old Rossall Point receives plenty of weight and has to be respected, while Carl Llewellyn's mount Sun Hill has dropped to a fair mark but has given little sign of encouragement of late. Indian Chase did not beat much when landing a maiden handicap at Chepstow two starts ago and of more interest may be the evergreen 10-year-old Henry Island, who has slipped to an attractive mark and holds solid claims on his best. Paul Howling's Madiba is another to consider but the vote here goes to Irish Blade to defy the burden of top weight.
