prominent, headway to lead briefly over 1f out, ridden and soon one pace
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, headway to lead over 1f out, headed entering final furlong, kept on to lead again close home
led, ridden over 3f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened
held up, outpaced halfway, ridden over 4f out, no impression
tracked leader, ridden over 3f out, soon one pace
held up, ridden over 2f out, headway to lead entering final furlong, headed and no extra close home
Plenty of in-form performers here however Double Banded is the most progressive and he gets the vote ahead of fellow hat-trick seeker Rehearsed. John Dunlop's colt was impressive when winning over two miles at Newmarket and a 6lb winners penalty looks unlikely to halt his winning run. He is effective over this trip and with the ground perfect once again, another big run looks imminent. Rehearsed has proven adept on varying ground in the past and Hugh Morrison's progressive filly shouldn't be easily overlooked. Dzesmin scored well at Catterick but is arguably better over a mile and a half, whilst King Of The Moors takes a big step up in trip which looks like a slightly desperate measure. At a price don't rule out a bounce back to form from Chester Cup winner Greenwich Meantime, however Double Banded looks the one to side with.
Greenwich Meantime 50-1 (9-2) In rear, slightly hampered 11f out, some headway over 4f out, weakened 3f out, eased 2f out, 25th of 33, 50l behind Leg Spinner (8-11) at Newmarket 2m 2f hcap (2) gs in Oct.
Gee Dee Nen 33-1 (8-1) Mid-division, in touch halfway, ridden when not clear run 4f out, weakened 2f out, 13th of 33, 19l behind Leg Spinner (8-11) at Newmarket 2m 2f hcap (2) gs in Oct.
King of The Moors (USA) 9-1 (9-1) Led steady pace, shaken up to quicken over 3f out, driven over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home, 9th of 15, 4l behind Sforzando (8-11) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Trance (IRE) 40-1 (9-8) Slowly into stride, always behind, 18th of 19, 23l behind Whenever (8-10) at Doncaster 1m 7f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Oct.
Rehearsed (IRE) 9-2fav (9-13) Towards rear, plenty to do 3f out, steady headway 2f out, stayed on final furlong to lead post, won at Newbury 1m 4f ldy rds hcp (5) sft in Oct beating Pocket Too (9-0) by a shd, 13 ran.
Double Banded (IRE) 2-1fav (9-0) Held up in 7th, smooth headway on bit over 2f out, led over 1f out, hung left but stayed on strongly final furlong, won at Newmarket 2m hcp 0-90 (3) gd beating Dr Sharp (9-13) by 5l, 10 ran.
Dzesmin (POL) 11-4fav (9-3) Held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, led over 1f out, driven out, won at Catterick 1m 4f hcap (3) gd in Sept beating Realism (9-10) by a nk, 8 ran.