held up, headway over 2f out, soon chasing leaders, stayed on same pace final furlong
held up in rear, driven 3f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on strongly, never nearer
chased leaders over 7f
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
behind, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on same pace
made virtually all, ridden over 2f out, stayed on well
held up in touch, effort over 2f out, kept on same pace
Half of the field have won over course and distance before so the most tentative of nominations goes to Ideally ahead of Pagan Sword and Snowed Under. The selection comes here on the back of a dead-heat at Bath and as a three-year-old he gets a hefty weight allowance from the older horses. Today's quicker ground shouldn't be a problem having run well on quick ground before and with plenty of improvement to come, Barry Hills' runner gets the nod. Pagan Sward couldn't quite land a telling blow at Goodwood when last seen but he hasn't won for quite a while now so whilst he is on a decent enough mark, we can not side with him. Snowed Under came good last time out (Fabrian in second; now has a 2lb pull in the weights) and this course and distance winner has won on varying ground so whilst he is now 3lbs above his highest winning mark, he deserves respect. Gold Prospect needs to bounce back from a poor run, but is another who gets the weight allowance, whilst Rationale is another who needs to return to form. All in all a tricky race, and the vote goes to Ideally.
Pagan Sword 7-1 (8-9) Slowly into stride, chased winner over 1f out, edged leeft and just held on for 2nd, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Ace of Hearts (9-2) at Goodwood 1m 1f app hcp (3) gf.
Rationale (IRE) 16-1 (9-9) Held up, raced alone on stand side over 7f out, overall leader over 6f out, clear over 5f out, headed over 1f out, soon edged left under pressure and weakened, 6th of 9, 7l behind Nobelix (9-4) at Newmarket 1m 7f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Jul.
Snowed Under 4-1 (9-9) Held up, headway over 2f out, led well over 1f out, ridden out, won at Leicester 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gs beating Fabrian (9-2) by 1/2l, 9 ran.
Can Can Star 7-2 (8-10) Keen, held up in rear, headway over 3f out, went 3rd over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 4th of 6, 6l behind Broughtons Revival (8-5) at Leicester 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Jul.
Fabrian 10-1 (9-2) Pulled hard, soon in touch, chased leader 8f out, ridden 3f out, driven and stayed on towards finish, 2nd of 9, 1/2l behind Snowed Under (9-9) at Leicester 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gs.
Gold Prospect 5-1 (9-1) Held up towards rear, raced centre 7f out, switched right and effort over 1f out, soon one pace, 7th of 10, 15l behind Winter Sunrise (9-6) at Newmarket 1m 2f 3yo hcp (3) gd in Jul.
Ideally (IRE) 6-1 (9-3) Made all, led, ridden and quickened over 2f out, stayed on gamely under pressure final furlong, joined on line, won at Bath 1m 2f mdn stk (5) gs in Jul deadheating with Pivotal Answer (8-12), 14 ran.
Princess Cocoa (IRE) 7-1 (9-3) Held up behind, outpaced over 4f out, kept on under pressure final 2f, never near leaders, 5th of 6, 4 1/2l behind Royal Flynn (9-7) at Beverley 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) hvy in Jul.
