chased leaders, 5th on outer 2f out, soon ridden, went 3rd inside final furlong, kept on without threatening
prominent, ridden in 3rd 2f out, 4th 1f out, no extra final furlong
held up in touch, ridden in 6th 2f out, headway into 2nd over 1f out, disputed lead 1f out, stayed on final furlong, headed and no extra close home
prominent, ridden entering straight, 4th 2f out, soon no impression
made most, pushed along entering straight, strongly pressed 1 1/2f out, joined 1f out, rallied well under pressure to regain lead close home
chased leaders, ridden entering straight, soon weakened to rear
held up in touch, ridden and headway entering straight, went close 2nd 2f out, dropped to 3rd over 1f out, no extra final furlong
THE UNITED STATES returned from a very long lay-off to comfortably see off Manalapan at Tipperary last month. He'll need to make further progress but there's every chance he'll do so and is handed the vote. Elleval has been taking on better company and was behind Scintillula and Wannabe Better, who both run in the Group 1 earlier, on his last two starts. He'll be more at home in this company and rates a threat while none of the remainder can be dismissed, especially the progressive Belle De Crecy, who ran well in a Listed contest last time.
Tandem 11-4fav (9-10) Mid-division, headway into 7th 3f out, ridden in 6th 2f out, no impression in 5th entering straight, 4th 1f out, kept on one pace final furlong, 8th of 18, 13l behind Brendan Brackan (9-6) at Galway 1m hcp in Jul.
Belle de Crecy (IRE) 8-1 (9-8) Led after 1f out, ridden and challenged 2f out, headed over 1f out, no extra and kept on same pace, just held 2nd close home, 2nd of 11, 3l behind Along Came Casey (9-11) at Gowran Park 1m 1f fll lst stks (1) gd in Aug.
Elleval (IRE) 4-1 (9-3) Waited with towards rear, closer in 5th and short of room on rail from 2f out, got in the clear in 4th 1f out, soon no impression, kept on same pace, 3rd of 10, 3 1/2l behind Wannabe Better (8-12) at Killarney 1m Listed stks (1) gd in Aug.
Manalapan (IRE) 13-8 (9-5) Tracked leader, closed up 2f out, ridden over 1f out, no impression and kept on same pace inside final furlong, 2nd of 4, 1 1/4l behind The United States (9-2) at Tipperary 1m 1f stks gd in Aug.
The United States (IRE) Evensfav (9-2) Wandered around a bit before roadway early, made all, niggled along into straight, ridden 2f out, asserted inside final furlong, stayed on well, comfortably, won at Tipperary 1m 1f stks gd in Aug beating Manalapan (9-5) by 1 1/4l, 4 ran.
Zand (IRE) 3-1 (8-10) Soon chased leaders, ridden in moderate 6th approaching straight, no impression and kept on same pace from 2f out, 6th of 10, 12l behind Trading Leather (8-13) at Curragh 1m 2f Listed stks (1) gf in Jun.
Uleavemebreathless 50-1 (9-0) Mid-division, 7th halfway, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace from over 1f out, 6th of 11, 6l behind Along Came Casey (9-11) at Gowran Park 1m 1f fll lst stks (1) gd in Aug.
