close up, chased leading pair 2f out, squeezed through to lead 1f out, headed and outpaced by winner inside final furlong
steadied rear, never a factor
slowly into stride, soon in touch in last trio, unable to quicken 2f out, headway and eased out over 1f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong, soon clear comfortably
raced wide in touch, pushed along halfway, stayed on steadily from over 1f out, went 3rd inside final furlong
chased leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened under pressure over 1f out
raced freely, led until ridden and headed approaching final furlong, weakened quickly and eased when beaten
Easy Air is selected in a very tricky contest, Sant Elena and Broken Spur are just two of many dangers. Ed Dunlop's charge looked a colt to keep on the right side of when winning on his debut here in November. A half-brother to the stable's Group 1 winner Court Masterpiece and the subject of encouraging gallops reports, he had an uphill battle on his hands after losing six lengths or more at the start, But under a terrfic ride from Kieren Fallon he got up in the shadow of the post. With that experience behind him he will be hard to beat today. Sant Elena was most impressive when landing a Nottingham maiden back in October and will have been hard for the handicapper to assess. A mark of 76 doesn't appear too harsh and a big run can be expected. Broken Spur returned to the track with an excellent second to Rebellion. That winner ran well again on Saturday and so it looks rock solid form and he is entitled to come on for the run. Top-weight Grimes Faith cannot be dismissed easily and is another to consider for the places, but there was a lot to like about Easy Air's victory and he can keep his unbeaten record this afternoon.
Grimes Faith 8-1 (9-4) Tracked leaders, ridden and every chance over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 9th of 12, 4 1/2l behind Secret Night (9-2) at Lingfield 6f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Littledodayno (IRE) 9-4 (8-13) Held up, driven, not quicken over 1f out, no impression final furlong, 7th of 10, 3l behind Dingaan (9-4) at Lingfield 6f 3yo hcp (4) pol in Jan.
Easy Air 5-2fav (9-0) Slowly away, headway 4f out, effort when short of room entering final furlong, strong run inside final fulrong, led on line, won at Lingfield 6f 2yo mdn (5) pol in Nov beating Rebellious Spirit (9-0) by a hd, 11 ran.
Sant Elena 8-13fav (8-9) Went right start, chased leaders, not clear run and switched left 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on, won at Nottingham 6f 2yo mdn aut (6) sft in Oct beating Canina (8-6) by 3 1/2l, 11 ran.
Broken Spur (FR) 7-1 (8-8) Started slowly, headway over 1f out, stayed on well, 3rd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Rebellion (8-8) at Lingfield 7f 3yo hcp (4) pol in Mar.
Lyrical Blues (IRE) 10-1 (8-13) Led, ridden and headed approaching 1f out, weakened, 5th of 10, 7l behind Aravalli (8-10) at W'hampton 7f 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Westport 11-8jt-fav (9-0) Led, headed over 6f out, disputed lead final furlong, just got up, won at Southwell 1m 3yo mdn (5) fbs in Feb beating Airbound (9-0) by a shd, 10 ran.
