held up towards rear, pushed along and closer in mid-division 3f out, no further headway
steadied and switched left start, held up in last trio, never involved
led, clear when ridden over 1f out, reduced lead inside final furlong, headed towards finish, rallied, just failed
chased leader until pushed along over 2f out, weakened soon after
raced keenly in last trio on inside, never involved
close 3rd on inside, angled out and went 2nd over 2f out, closed steadily inside final furlong, ran on gamely to lead towards finish, all out to hold on
raced bit wide, chasing leaders, shaken up and unable to quicken inside final 2f, kept on into 3rd towards finish
held up in mid-division on inside, headway over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, angled out in 3rd inside final 2f, ridden and stayed on same pace inside final furlong, lost 3rd towards finish
steadied start, held up in last pair, some late headway, never involved
Darkness went close at Epsom looking for his first win since 2020 and that was also the year Light And Dark last won. La Maquina finished a decent fourth at York and Mister Bluebird has been thereabouts lately but CHOLA EMPIRE gets the vote. The latter wasn’t beaten far in a higher grade contest back on the Turf at Newmarket last month and can race off the same mark here. Physique is unexposed and is another to consider after placing over track and trip though has yet to encounter fast ground.
Bass Player (IRE) 14-1 (9-5) Tracked leaders, pushed along over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 8, 4 1/4l behind The Gatekeeper (8-11) at Newmarket 7f hcp (2) gd in May.
Light And Dark (9-4) 13th of 16, 3 1/2l behind Taamol (9-11) at Meydan 7f hcp gd in Feb.
Darkness (FR) 20-1 (9-11) Led and went right after 1f, headed 5f out, led again 2f out, clear when ridden over 1f out, headed and no extra towards finish, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind Spanish Star (10-2) at Epsom 7f hcp (2) gf in Jun.
Mitrosonfire 4-1 (9-5) Midfield, pushed along 2f out, stayed on well final furlong, 4th of 10, 3/4l behind Meishar (9-5) at Lingfield 7f hcp (3) pol in Nov.
Al Rufaa (FR) 14-1 (9-3) Slow into stride, towards rear, pushed along over 1f out, never nearer, 8th of 11, 6 1/4l behind Boardman (9-10) at Chester 1m hcp (2) gd in May.
Mister Bluebird 4-1 (9-11) Went left and stumbled start, led, ridden and headed inside final 150 yards, well held and lost 2nd final 100 yards, 3rd of 9, 1l behind Coco Bear (9-5) at Ascot 6f hcp (4) sft in May.
Physique (IRE) 9-2 (9-10) Limited comments due to poor visibility, in lead 5f out, in lead 1f out, headed inside final furlong, held towards finish, 3rd of 8, 2 1/4l behind Novus (9-1) at Goodwood 7f hcp (3) sft in May.
Chola Empire 18-1 (8-2) In touch, headway to track leaders 4f out, ridden over 1f out, driven edged left and kept on one pace final furlong, 4th of 7, 1 1/4l behind Montassib (9-7) at Newmarket 7f hcp (2) gd in May.
La Maquina 9-1 (9-7) Towards rear and outpaced early, headway from halfway, chased leaders when went fourth inside final furlong, not pace of front three near finish, 4th of 19, 1 1/2l behind Doctor Khan Junior (8-11) at York 7f hcp (4) gf in May.
