towards rear, 8th halfway, headway on outer over 1f out, soon ridden, improved to 3rd final 150 yards, kept on, not trouble principals
mid-division, 4th halfway, under pressure and lost place 2 1/2f out, ridden in 7th 1 1/2f out, weakened final furlong
soon led narrowly, headed after 3 1/2f, 2nd halfway, niggled along over 3f out, led over 2f out, headed 1 1/2f out, soon ridden, dropped to 3rd over 1f out, no extra in 4th final 150 yards
towards rear, 9th halfway, rapid headway on outer 1 1/2f out, strongly challenged leader over 1f out, led narrowly under 1f out, kept on, headed final strides
tracked leader in close 2nd, a little keen in 3rd halfway, lost place and weakened 2 1/2f out
close up, mid-division after 2f, progress to 3rd under 3f out, closed on inner under 2f out, led 1 1/2f out, strongly pressed over 1f out, headed under 1f out, rallied to lead final strides
in rear, 7th halfway, headway on inner 1 1/2f out, soon ridden in 4th, kept on same pace in 5th closing stages
prominent, dropped to 6th halfway, effort and progress over 2f out, lost place and weakened 1 1/2f out
ran freely in rear, rapid headway after 3f, soon led, headed over 2f out, weakened quickly under 2f out
Dermot Weld won this with Harzand in 2016 and relies on Curragh maiden winner Duke De Sessa, who had today's rival PIZ BADILE half-a-length back in second when landing the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes over 1m1f here. The latter suffered interference inside the final furlong, however, so there should be little between the pair again with preference just for Donnacha O'Brien's charge. He had Buckaroo over four lengths behind when making a winning debut at Killarney in July. Bluegrass finished fourth in the Group 3 Zetland at Newmarket but was always likely to do better in his second campaign, a remark that also applies to stablemate Scriptwriter.
Duke De Sessa (IRE) 11-2 (9-5) Held up in rear, pushed along on outer early straight, some headway and ridden in 7th 1f out, kept on well inside final furlong to lead close home, won at Leopardstown 1m 1f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Oct beating Piz Badile (9-5) by 1/2l, 13 ran.
Absolute Ruler (USA) 7-2 (9-5) Tracked leaders, 4th halfway, ridden and no impression 2f out, no extra over 1f out, 6th of 8, 9 1/2l behind Juncture (9-0) at Dundalk 1m lst stks (1) pol in Mar.
Bluegrass (IRE) 6-1 (9-2) Towards rear, pushed along and headway 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace final furlong, 4th of 9, 3 1/2l behind Goldspur (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 2f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Oct.
Buckaroo (8-13) 4th of 9, 2 3/4l behind El Bodegon (8-13) at Saint-Cloud 1m 2f Grp 1 hvy in Oct.
Manu Et Corde (IRE) 14-1 (9-5) Pushed along briefly early, close up in 2nd, pushed along again over 2f out, soon challenged and every chance, no extra and one pace in 3rd inside final furlong, 2nd at finish, 2nd of 5, 4 3/4l behind Luxembourg (9-5) at Curragh 1m Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Sep.
Piz Badile (IRE) 10-1 (9-5) Tracked leaders, mid-division halfway, pushed along and headway on inner in straight, bumped by rival and led 150 yards out, ridden and kept on, headed close home, 2nd of 13, 1/2l behind Duke De Sessa (9-5) at Leopardstown 1m 1f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Oct.
More Felons (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Towards rear, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 5th of 10, 5 3/4l behind Coroebus (9-1) at Newmarket 1m Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Oct.
Swan Bay (IRE) 15-8 (9-5) Pushed along briefly early, soon raced in 4th, closed up in 3rd approaching straight, pushed along over 2f out, soon challenged and every chance until no extra and one pace on outer inside final furlong, 4th of 5, 5 1/4l behind Luxembourg (9-5) at Curragh 1m Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Sep.
Vina Sena (IRE) 16-5 (9-7) Chased leaders, 6th under 3f out, travelled well on outer to close 1 1/2f out, pushed along to lead over 1f out, asserted closing stages, comfortably, won at Dundalk 1m mdn pol in Dec beating Rene Artois (9-7) by 2 1/4l, 13 ran.
