slowly into stride, held up towards rear, slipped on bend 4f out, headway on outside 3f out, stayed on inside final furlong, went 3rd near finish
led, ridden 2f out, headed inside final furlong, unable to quicken
took keen hold, tracked leader to over 4f out, weakened 2f out
slowly away, took keen hold, soon close up, ran in snatches, weakened rapidly over 3f out, virtually pulled up final 2f
behind, moderate late headway, no danger
took keen hold, mid-division, ridden 3f out, weakened over 2f out
held up towards rear, headway 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, challenged inside final furlong, stayed on to lead near finish
mid-division, headway to chase leaders 4f out, soon ridden, weakened
in touch, headway 3f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, headed near finish
always in rear
behind, ridden over 2f out, never dangerous
took keen hold, tracked leaders, went 2nd over 4f out, hard driven over 1f out, weakened final furlong
Nonrunner
Barney Curley begins the comeback trail with Petrovich and should be able to win this claimer doing handstands, if back to anything like his best, while Drizzi, Art Modern and Tufton are weighted to go well. The selection was last rated 109 when finishing runner-up in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot last year. A repeat of that would see him wipe the floor with this lot and although that cannot be guaranteed, he is clearly over what was ailing him and it will be interesting to see what ability he has retained. Drizzi has been in fine form in similar contests just lately and acts at a range of middle distance trips. He is way below the form required to beat the selection under normal circimstances, but if the Curley charge does not fire then he may still have a say. Art Modern is not red hot at present but at these weights he must be considered as a frame chance, while Tufton has droped to this class of late and is another relatively speaking who is favoured by thw weights here, so he can be thereabouts. The race however, revolves entirely around Petrovich. If he runs to within 20lb of his official rating on his reappearance then he should score.
Art Modern (IRE) 9-1 (9-10) Tracked leaders, ridden to challenge 3f out, every chance 1f out, no extra, 4th of 11, 5l behind Harry Tricker (9-4) at Goodwood 1m 2f hcap (5) gf in Sept.
Tufton 4-1 (9-4) Led, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 11, 29l behind Hall of Fame (8-11) at Haydock 1m 3f 3yo & 4yo sll (4) sft in Sept.
General Knowledge (USA) 25-1 (9-9) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, soon faded, last of 9, 6l behind Emerald Wilderness (9-5) at Folkestone 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Jul.
Petrovich (USA) 7-2 (8-11) Tracked leaders, one pace when not much room on rail, switched left final 2f, stayed on well to take 2nd towards finish, not reach winner, 2nd of 15, 1/2l behind Snoqualmie Boy (8-11) at Ascot 1m 2f 3yo lst stk (1) gf in Jun '06.
Drizzi (IRE) 6-4fav (9-10) Held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, shaken up to lead inside final furlong, ran on well, won at Musselburgh 1m 4f sll (6) gf in Sept beating On Every Street (9-4) by 3l, 12 ran.
Top Gear 80-1 (9-6) Slowly into stride, always behind, 19th of 21, 24l behind Middlemarch (9-5) at Ascot 7f ldy rds hcp (3) gs in Jul.
Langford 8-1 (9-4) Held up mid-division, tracked leaders over 2f out, ridden 1f out, soon every chance, not quicken, 4th of 11, 1 1/2l behind Oeuf A La Neige (8-12) at Musselburgh 1m 1f clm (6) gf in Sept.
Mr Belvedere 11-2 (9-4) Prominent, ridden 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 8th of 13, 11l behind Sion Hill (9-4) at W'hampton 1m 1f Stks (41-45) (7) pol in Sept.
Best Selection 13-2 (8-11) Held up behind, ridden over 2f out, no impression until stayed on final furlong, went 2nd near finish, 2nd of 7, 2l behind Secret Liaison (9-7) at Salisbury 1m 2f clm (5) gs.
Always A Story 80-1 (8-2) Tracked leaders, led 4f out, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened quickly, 10th of 11, 41l behind Desert Hawk (8-9) at Yarmouth 1m 2f app hcp (6) gs in Jun.
Compton Express 66-1 (8-10) In touch, weakened over 2f out, 10th of 11, 12l behind Atlantic Gamble (9-4) at Kempton 1m 3f clm (6) pol in Sept.
Laugh 'n Cry 16-1 (9-3) Took keen hold, held up, not clear run briefly inside final 2f, headway and hung left from over 1f out, stayed on to take 3rd final 100 yards, 3rd of 9, 4 1/2l behind Ravenna (8-3) at Lingfield 1m 4f sll (6) pol in Jun.
Surdoue 14-1 (9-0) Chased leader to 1f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 14, 3l behind Theatre Royal (8-11) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-50 (6) pol.
