close up, ridden over 2f out, weakened and eased inside final furlong
held up in rear, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, nearest finish
led and set strong gallop, headed and weakened 1f out
held up towards rear, ridden and headway 2f out, chased winner inside final furlong, no impression
held up in rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression
held up mid-division, ridden and no impression 2f out until stayed on inside final furlong
tracked leader, led 1f out, shaken up and ridden clear
in touch, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace
A very good line-up for what is very good prize-money and the vote goes to Steely Dan ahead of Ionian Spring, Bourgainville and Consonant. Spinning through the filed and Unavailable looked decent as a juvenile but has not been seen since October 2003. A return to the level of his summer Turf winning form would give Ionian Spring a big shout, and he does act on this surface, while Dumaran is also well-weighted based on the best of his 2002 form, although he has not won since then and this is only his second run on the all-weather. Consonant rattled up a four-timer - including over course and distance - around a year ago, and is now just two pounds above a winning mark. If his trainer has sweetened him up again then he cannot be ruled out. Steely Dan got the run of things over a mile to score here last time and carries a seven-pound penalty for that success, so it should be closer between him and Sri Diamond, who was not far behind him on that occasion, although the latter is unproven at today's trip. Bourgainville ran well enough over today's course and distance on February 12 to suggest that he can still play a part here but with Another Choice needing to find a few pounds to score, we return to Steely Dan. He was well backed last time and, not having had a hard race, might well be able to follow up.
Unavailable (IRE) 14-1 Mid-division, ridden and headway over 3f out, led approaching final furlong, kept on, ridden out, won at York 1m 2yo hcp (C) gf in Oct '03 beating Weet A Head by 1l, 13 ran.
Ionian Spring (IRE) 9-4fav Held up in rear, headway over 2f out, soon ridden, no impression final furlong, 7th of 8, 8l behind Calcutta at York 1m 1f clm (D3) gf in Sept.
Dumaran (IRE) 50-1 Reared badly in stalls and unseated rider in race won by Spanish Don at Newmarket 1m 1f hcp (B1) gd in Oct, 32 ran.
Consonant (IRE) 25-1 Held up in rear, pushed along 3f out, stayed on under pressure over 1f out, no danger, 7th of 11, 3l behind Gold History at Goodwood 1m 1f hcp (C1) gf in Sept.
Steely Dan 9-1 Held up in rear, steady headway inside final 2f, squeezed through inside final furlong, ran on to lead near finish, won at Lingfield 7f hcp (D2) pol in Feb beating Les Arcs by a shd, 12 ran.
Bourgainville 8-1 In touch, went 2nd over 2f out, chased leader over 1f, not quicken final 100 yards, 4th of 10, 2 1/2l behind Counsel's Opinion at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (C1) pol in Feb.
Sri Diamond 6-1 Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, hard driven final furlong, ran on to lead near finish, won at Lingfield 1m hcp (D2) pol in Feb beating Miss Polaris by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Another Choice (IRE) 14-1 Mid-division, pushed along over 3f out, effort over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 7th of 24, 16l behind Carte Diamond at Doncaster 1m 4f hcp 0-110 (B1) sft in Nov.
