held up, headway on wide outside over 3f out, went 3rd approaching final 2f, stayed on to dispute well held 2nd inside final furlong until no extra towards finish
made all, clear over 1f out, ran on well, unchallenged
took keen hold, chased leaders on inside until outpaced halfway, headway on inside over 1f out, ran on to dispute 2nd inside final furlong and kept on to outright 2nd towards finish, never able to challenge
took keen hold, chased winner, ridden and no impression over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
chased leaders on outside, ridden 2f out, lost place and never on terms soon after
DESERT STRIKE had looked in the handicapper's grip until going very close at Wolverhampton a week ago when just failing to catch Titus Gent off today's mark. Matthew Lawson's 5lb claim should be enough to swing things his way in this contest and he's preferred to Diamond Charlie. The latter was all at sea in testing ground at Epsom last time but is only 2lb higher than when scoring at Kempton in December. Best Be Careful won three times last year and could figure on her reappearance if fully primed but the remainder are hard to fancy on their recent form.
Diamond Charlie (IRE) 14-1 (9-0) Slowly away and went badly right start, always behind, last of 14, 14l behind Cadeaux Pearl (8-11) at Epsom Downs 5f hcp 0-95 (3) sft in Apr.
Kingsgate Choice (IRE) 28-1 (9-1) Prominent far side, weakened entering final 2f, 22nd of 25, 16l behind Son Of The Cat (9-9) at Goodwood 6f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
Desert Strike 15-2 (9-2) Awkward start, held up in rear, took keen hold, ridden over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, went 2nd post, 2nd of 11, 3/4l behind Titus Gent (8-10) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Fathom Five (IRE) 7-1 (8-10) Tracked leaders, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 14, 8l behind Cadeaux Pearl (8-11) at Epsom Downs 5f hcp 0-95 (3) sft in Apr.
Best Be Careful (IRE) 6-1fav (8-10) Behind, moderate headway inside final furlong, 9th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Cool In The Shade (9-0) at Nottingham 5f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Oct.
Jameela Girl 10-1 (8-13) Slowly into stride, chased leaders, under pressure halfway, headway over 1f out, never on terms, 5th of 7, 11l behind Gorgeous Goblin (8-12) at Southwell 5f fll hcp (4) fbs.
