held up towards rear, steady headway and switched right over 2f out, ridden to chase leaders over 1f out, sustained run to lead final 110 yards
slowly into stride, held up towards rear, pushed along 4f out, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, pushed along and stayed on inside final furlong, never near leaders
held up towards rear on inside, switched right and headway on outside 7f out, weakened 3f out, eased when no chance final 2f
mid-division, ridden and headway 3f out, challenged on outside 2f out, every chance 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong
chased leading pair, ridden to dispute 2nd over 2f out, kept on same pace inside inside final furlong
started very slowly, always well in rear, eased when no chance final 2f, well behind when jumped loose patch of ground entering final furlong
steadied start, held up towards rear, effort on inside under pressure over 3f out, no real impression final 2f
tracked leader, led 5f out, ridden and hung left over 2f out, narrowly headed over 1f out, jumped patch of loose ground entering final furlong, kept on same pace after
held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out
took keen hold, chased leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened just inside final 2f
led until narrowly headed 5f out, chased leader, led again over 1f out, ridden and hung left entering final furlong, headed and not pace of winner final 110 yards
Jim Boyle's Contradictive has a nice racing weight off just 8st 5lb and he has solid claims racing off the same mark as when second at Leicester last month so has to be strongly considered but it is hard to get away from GHUFA at the other end of the weights, with the main danger rated as Force Group. The last mentioned has been running creditably of late and has the assistance of one of the better apprentice riders in the race in Ashley Morgan so he has to be considered despite his big weight. John Portman's Minder has run better in his last two outings and has place claims at least especially having been dropped 2lbs since his most recent start. John Bridger's Choral Festival has also been knocking on the door in recent runs and should be thereabouts again but a better bet looks to be Ghufa. Jeff Pearce's gelding has been the model of consistency of late with two wins at Haydock and Wolverhampton and decent placed efforts at a variety of tracks and he looks the one to beat.
Ghufa (IRE) 3-1fav (9-2) Raced wide in touch, ridden and every chance 2f out, chased winner 1f out, unable to quicken, 2nd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Lastroseofsummer (8-3) at Newmarket 1m 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Force Group (IRE) 8-1 (8-12) Led after 1f, headed over 1f out, soon weakened, 6th of 12, 6l behind Free Tussy (9-6) at Kempton 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
First To Call 9-4fav (9-8) Led 2f, chased winner, challenged going well 2f out, ridden over 1f out and found little, no extra and lost 2 places towards finish, 4th of 7, 6l behind Prince Picasso (9-8) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Mar.
Black Coffee 10-1 (11-4) Slowly into stride, held up towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, stayed on final furlong, never in contention, 10th of 15, 9l behind Bavarica (11-2) at Newbury 1m 2f am hcp (0-70) (4yo+) (5) gf.
Shooting Party (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened 3f out, 15th of 16, 31l behind Make Amends (9-1) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
Attainable 14-1 (9-6) In rear, pushed along over 4f out, struggling over 2f out, 10th of 11, 20l behind Mountain Forest (8-5) at Kempton 2m hacp 0-70 (5) pol in Apr.
Aegean King 6-4fav (8-10) Dwelt, held up in touch, ridden and not much room from over 2f out, switched left 1f out, kept on, not pace to challenge, 4th of 11, 3l behind Bernix (8-13) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Apr.
Choral Festival 10-1 (8-2) Chased leaders,led over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon edged right, headed entering final furlong, kept on, 3rd of 10, 1/2l behind Granny Mcphee (9-7) at Windsor 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Minder 10-3fav (9-4) Slowly into stride, behind and relucant to race, caught rear of the field 5f out, ridden and headway past weakening horse over 2f out, went 3rd inside final furlong, not troubled leaders, 3rd of 10, 9l behind Touch of Style (8-1) at Bath 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) gf.
Princess Flame (GER) 7-1 (9-0) In rear, weakened 4f out, 8th of 10, 36l behind Touch of Style (8-1) at Bath 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) gf.
Contradiktive (IRE) 9-2 (8-0) Tracked winner until 4f out, ridden and outpaced 3f out, rallied to go 2nd towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1 1/4l behind Channel Crossing (8-6) at Leicester 1m 4f app hcp 0-60 (6) gf in May.
