held up in rear, never in contention
left tracking leader after 1f, ridden 2f out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, ran on final furlong to take 2nd towards finish, not reached winner
chased leaders, ridden to lead just inside final furlong, driven out
in touch on outer, ridden 2f out, ran on under pressure final furlong
outpaced and always behind
tracked leaers on inner, challenged going well and every chance 1f out, chased winner after, no impression and held when lost 2nd towards finish
led until hung badly right and almost ran off course on bend after 1f, stayed prominent, continued to hang badly right and virutall pulled up on bend 2f out
left in lead after 1f, ridden and headed just inside final furlong, faded
Norcroft gets the vote here with Seneschal and Best Double rated as the main dangers. The selection won well at Kempton last time when beating Nautical and he looks sure to give a good account here. He goes well on this surface and he gets on well with his pilot who takes off a handy 7lbs again today. The booking of Frankie Dettori for Seneschal catches the eye and he ran well when finishing second behind Mister Elegant at Kempton over 7f when last seen out. He is in good heart at present and with this drop in trip unlikely to inconvenience him he should go well. Best Double is interesting as she made eyecatching headway over this course and distance last time when finishing fourth behind Al Qasi. She looks one to note in the market, while Russian Rocket is a stablemate of our selection and does have the services of Kerrin McEvoy in the plate. A tough finale for punters to call, but we will side with Norcroft as our idea of the winner.
Norcroft 9-1 (9-10) Made all, soon led, hard pressed inside final furlong, just held on, won at Kempton 6f app hcp (5) pol beating Nautical (9-10) by a shd, 9 ran.
Nistaki (USA) 20-1 (9-11) Steadied start, settled in rear, ridden over 2f out, never a factor, 6th of 8, 4 1/2l behind Heavens Walk (8-12) at Kempton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Up Tempo (IRE) 7-1 (8-11) Mid-division, ridden halfway, no impression, 7th of 8, 8l behind Hammer of The Gods (9-2) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jun.
Russian Rocket (IRE) 7-1 (9-7) Mid-division weakened over 2f out, 11th of 15, 6l behind Linda Green (9-5) at Windsor 6f hcp 0-70 (5) gf.
Seneschal 10-3 (9-11) Tracked leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, stayed on until headed final 50 yards, 2nd of 6, 3/4l behind Mister Elegant (8-11) at Kempton 7f app hcp (5) pol.
Desert Opal 9-2 (9-12) Held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, led just inside final furlong, soon headed, not quicken, 2nd of 13, 1 1/2l behind Cd Europe (9-12) at W'hampton 6f sll (6) pol in Jun.
Vindication 10-1 (9-6) Raced far side, tracked leaders, ridden to challenge over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 11th of 18, 13l behind Lincolneurocruiser (9-2) at Newmarket 7f app hcp (5) frm.
Humility 13-2 (9-5) Held up towards rear, wide, ridden and headway 2f out, weakened final furlong, 10th of 12, 9l behind Writ (9-0) at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jun.
Great Belief (IRE) 16-1 (9-1) Slowly into stride, in rear, ridden along 3f out, soon ridden and weakened quickly from 2f out, last of 9, 19l behind Heavens Walk (8-13) at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-70 (5) gf.
A Teen 33-1 (8-4) Chased leaders plural, ridden and effort on outer over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, 3rd of 9, 3 1/2l behind Norcroft (9-10) at Kempton 6f app hcp (5) pol.
Attitude Annie 33-1 (8-10) Always behind, 15th of 16, 8l behind Safranine (8-5) at Warwick 5f fll hcp (5) gd.
Best Double 11-2 (8-12) Slowly into stride, held up in last pair, still plenty to do straight, ran on final furlong, not reach leaders, 4th of 11, 5l behind Al Qasi (9-3) at Lingfield 6f mdn aut stk (5) pol.
