raced wide held up, ridden 3f out, never on terms
tracked leaders, led 3f out, ridden and headed inside final furlong
tracked leader, ridden and unable to quicken over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
raced wide towards rear, ridden and weakened 3f out
raced wide in touch, ridden 4f out, headway 2f out, stayed on towards finish
dwelt in touch, weakened over 2f out
in rear, pushed along 2f out, headway and switched right entering final furlong, never nearer
led, clear 9f out, ridden and headed 3f out, soon weakened, tailed off
held up, wide and headway to go close up 6f out, chased leader 2f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on
tracked leaders, pushed along 2f out, ridden and kept on one pace final furlong
held up, headway over 1f out, stayed on towards finish
towards rear, pushed along 3f out, never a factor
Celtic Classic debuts for new connections having won over 1m4f at Kempton while Percy Alexander has been hurdling though has yet to race over this far on the Flat. But HERM has won over 1m6f and finished runner-up off a similar mark to today at Kempton in March. He’s fancied to go close back over this extra distance with Oisin Murphy taking over the reins. Valkenburg and Hidden Depths finished second over 2m on their respective latest starts while Mobham has yet to win in 18 attempts and Elhafei has raced over no further than 1m2f so far.
Percy Alexander 66-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, hampered 1st, jumped left and bumped next, lost place after 4 out, 8th of 10, 37 1/4l behind Mick Pastor (11-4) at Ludlow 2m (4) sft in Jan.
Nafaayes (IRE) 14-1 (9-12) Keen tracked leaders, steadied back after 4f, in touch, wide and headway 3f out to track leaders, ridden 2f out, faded inside final furlong, 7th of 14, 5 1/2l behind Padleyourowncanoe (9-10) at Lingfield 2m hcp (6) pol in Jan.
Herm (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, outpaced over 2f out, switched outside over 1f out, ridden and ran on inside final furlong, went 2nd towards finish, not trouble winner, 2nd of 9, 1 3/4l behind Crimson King (9-4) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Mar.
Front Five (IRE) 14-1 (9-12) Led, ridden over 3f out, headed over 2f out, soon weakened, 5th of 6, 17 1/4l behind Always Summer (9-2) at Newcastle 2m hcp (5) pol in Oct.
Valkenburg 4-6fav (9-5) Tracked leader, pushed along 3f out, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, held when eased inside final furlong, 2nd of 6, 2 3/4l behind Gemini (9-4) at Catterick 2m stks (6) gd in Sep.
Mobham (IRE) 17-2 (9-9) Slowly away, headway over 8f out, led 7f out, headed over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong, 5th of 13, 3 3/4l behind Alvaro (9-7) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Feb.
Dovils Date 66-1 (9-3) In rear, never on terms, tailed off, 10th of 11, 21l behind Zack Mayo (9-9) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp (5) pol in Mar.
Hidden Depths (IRE) 9-4fav (9-5) Pulled hard, held up in touch on inside, headway over 2f out, went 3rd 2f out, switched left and went 2nd over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Doctor Jazz (9-5) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f stks (6) pol in Dec.
Elhafei (USA) 4-1 (9-2) Led, joined 2f out, ridden over 1f out, headed and outpaced entering final furlong, no extra and lost 3rd final strides, 4th of 8, 6 1/4l behind Straitouttacompton (9-7) at Southwell 1m hcp (6) pol in Feb.
Celtic Classic (IRE) 7-2fav (9-4) Chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, hung left and stayed on same pace inside final furlong, 4th of 13, 7 1/2l behind Sea Art (9-3) at Bath 1m 5f hcp (6) gs in Sep.
Star Of Athena 8-1 (9-7) Slowly into stride, towards rear, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, tailed off, eased over 2f out, 7th of 8, 33 1/2l behind Motahassen (9-7) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Feb.
Heron (USA) 5-1 (9-6) Held up mid-division, pushed along 3f out, ridden just over 1f out, no response, 10th of 14, 3 1/2l behind Lord Howard (8-10) at Lingfield 2m hcp (6) pol in Mar.
