slowly into stride, held up, headway and not clear run 2f out and final furlong, switched right inside final furlong, stayed on close home, unlucky
led 2f, ridden and led again over 2f out, headed final furlong, stayed on well
always prominent, led final furlong, ridden out
held up, ridden and headway approaching 2f out, stayed on same pace
held up towards rear, ridden 2f out, some headway when not room inside final furlong, soon eased
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, stayed on well inside final furlong
held up, never dangerous
slowly into stride, held up, some headway 3f out, soon ridden and one pace
held up in rear, ridden, headway and not clear run approaching final furlong, not recover
slowly into stride, held up, never troubled leaders
led 8f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakening when hampered inside final furlong
never troubled leaders
mid-division, headway 3f out, ridden over 2f out, stayed on
mid-division, ridden halfway, weakened well over 2f out
tracked leaders, ridden 3f out, switched left approaching 2f out, stayed on
close up, ridden over 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
A large field to sort through in which a high draw should be favourable. Nadour Al Bahr, despite not winning for nearly two years, gets little respite from the Handicapper. He will be ridden by an apprentice for the first time in his career and the 7lbs he claims should ensure he is competitive. Brian Meehan relies on Goblet Of Fire from his two entries. The four-year-old has the benefit of a recent outing when he was third in the Winter Derby, probably his best effort to date. He ended last year with a solid effort in the Cambridgeshire and that form looks better than anything his rivals can boast, so he gets the vote to win an intriguing contest. Solo Flight has been done no favours by the draw, but he does go well fresh and isn't dismissed lightly, while Broadway Score looked close to his best when touched off by Lingo last week. A repetition of that effort should see him go close. Others to consider include Muhareb, who comes from a stable in form and Northern Raider Swan Knight, for whom Pat Eddery is an interesting booking.
