in touch, lost place and dropped towards rear after 3f, kept on again final furlong,never able to challenge
tracked leader, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, driven and held on well near finish
held up well in rear, headway on outside final 2f, challenged and edged left inside final furlong, ran on to take 2nd final 50yds
close up on inner, going well enough 2f out, not quicken over 1f out, switched left and ran on well inside final furlong
raced wide, soon chased leaders over 5f
chased leaders, ridden to chase winner final furlong, unable to quicken and lost 2nd final 50yds
led, ridden 2f out, headed and weakened approaching final furlong
behind, ridden 5f out, struggling after
slowly away, towards rear, driven along 2f out, kept on final furlong but never dangerous
close up, effort over 3f out, no impression final 2f
awkward leaving stalls, never travelling after, eased from halfway
towards rear, pushed along halfway, soon struggling, eased when no chance final furlong
Plenty of previous course experience to draw on from various quarters and finding a confident selection is no easy task. However, Paragon Of Virtue has held his own in better races than this over the years and can give weight and a beating to his rivals today. The shortlist of alternatives include: Brave Dane, who hails from a yard that are going through a purple patch at the moment and he arrives here after being freshened up by a short break. Learned Lad is another that can never be ruled out around here and he too should have benefited from a short lay-off. Whereas Lifted Way, who landed a jump jockeys versus Flat race under Tony McCoy when he was last seen out, also has to be respected as he is obviously in good heart at present. The same can be said of Supreme Salutation, who again proved himself to be no back number when winning just three days ago. He does have a bit to prove under a 7lb penalty in this company though and may be set to play a minor role today. Therefore, it may be best to stick with the more solid profile represented by Paragon Of Virtue, as he posted a good effort to finish a very close up third when he was last tried over this trip here in March. The gelding is versatile regarding his best distance and, as there is sure to be plenty of pace on from the outset, Paragon Of Virtue may be able to utilise his finishing punch to nail first prize close home.