with leader, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, ridden out
chased leaders, ridden halfway, edged left and kept on inside final furlong
slowly into stride, pulled hard in rear, effort on inside over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
always in rear
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, lost place 2f out, driven, stayed on final furlong
prominent, ridden 2f out, stayed on same pace
slowly into stride, always in rear
pulled hard, held up in touch, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, stayed on
keen, tracked leaders, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong
led, ridden halfway, headed approaching final furlong, soon weakened
George The Second is nominated ahead of Cosmic Destiny and Quality Street. The drop back to five furlongs is a clear worry for backers but the colt is not short of pace and this is not a strong contest by any stretch of the imagination. Cosmic Destiny finally managed to get her head infront at Brighton after a number of near misses. She does not win too often and has a habit of pulling too hard for her own good. Quality Street is gradually filtering down the handicap after a number of modest efforts. The front runner drops down to five having campaigned largely at six furlongs. Sparkwell has ability although lacks consistency. Pride Of Joy is out of form whilst That's Blue Chip was entitled to need a first run back. A difficult race for punters given the lack of positive form and George The Second is put forward as the most realistic option in the pack.
George The Second 9-1 (9-6) Led 2f, led again over 2f out, soon headed, weakened, 9th of 11, 12l behind Makabul (9-13) at Windsor 6f hcp 0-70 (5) gs in Jun.
Quality Street 10-1 (8-13) Squeezed out start, recovered to chase leaders after 2f, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 8, 9l behind Osiris Way (9-6) at Goodwood 6f hcap (5) gd in Jun.
Even Bolder 20-1 (8-6) Behind in touch, ridden over 2f out, outpaced and soon in rear, last of 9, 11l behind Efistorm (9-7) at Sandown 5f hcp 0-80 (4) gs in Jun.
Sparkwell 10-1 (9-2) In touch, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 8th of 11, 8l behind Almaty Express (8-2) at W'hampton 5f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Jan.
Bold Argument (IRE) 8-1 (8-7) Towards rear, headway 2f out, not much room over 1f out, kept on, not reach leaders, 4th of 10, 4 1/2l behind Currency (8-1) at Salisbury 6f app hcp (5) gf in Jun.
Pride of Joy 14-1 (9-4) Always towards rear, kept on same pace from over 1f out, not trouble leaders, 8th of 9, 3 1/2l behind What Do You Know (9-11) at Kempton 5f hcap (5) pol in Jun.
That's Blue Chip 17-2 (8-8) Held up, effort when not much room over 1f out, never near to challenge, 14th of 15, 9l behind Desert Opal (9-1) at Beverley 5f hcap (5) gd in May.
Cosmic Destiny (IRE) 7-1 (9-5) Jumped awkwardly, keen, held up, ridden, headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, headed, no extra near finish, 3rd of 9, 1l behind Harrison's Flyer (9-8) at Brighton 5f hcp 0-65 (6) gs in Jun.