tracked leader, led over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, 3rd and held towards finish
held up in rear, headway on outside over 2f out, challenged over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, edged left, just held
held up in touch in 4th, closed over 2f out, led over 1f out, driven and hard pressed inside final furlong, edged left near finish, held on
held up in 5th, not much room and switched right over 2f out, kept on, not able to get on terms
led, ridden over 3f out, headed over 2f out, soon weakened
pushed along briefly leaving stalls, tracked leaders, ridden and one pace 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
A fascinating opener with Harry Fry sending American Gigolo practically the length of the country in search of a hat-trick for what is an excellent purse. His winning hurdler has taken so well to to the all-weather scene during the winter campaign but both successes have arrived at Class 5 level and this represents a significant rise in grade. This should inform how good he is on the level but he's not going to off a strong price in view of his high-profile connections and therefore the battle-hardened DUBAWI FIFTY is just preferred. The ultra-consistent selection runs off a career-high mark here but his only defeat in his last five outings came when an excellent fourth of 34 in the 2017 Cesarewitch. Continuum has a chance too if able to repeat a much-improved effort when third behind Watersmeet last time.
Dubawi Fifty 10-11fav (9-7) Tracked leader, led 3f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on gamely, won at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (2) pol in Feb beating Gwafa (9-3) by 1l, 7 ran.
Stargazer (IRE) 15-8fav (9-4) Held up, behind, hampered over 2f out, soon outpaced, headway under pressure over 1f out, not clear run and switched left inside final furlong, kept on, unable to challenge, 5th of 12, 3 3/4l behind New Caledonia (8-7) at Ascot 1m 4f hcp stks (2) gd in Sep.
American Gigolo 2-5fav (9-11) Soon led, headed over 8f out, led 3f out, ridden final furlong, kept on well, won at Kempton 1m 4f stks (5) pol in Feb beating Give Him Time (9-4) by 2 1/2l, 6 ran.
Suegioo (FR) 9-1 (9-2) Detached in rear, pushed along over 5f out, struggling 4f out, tailed off, 5th of 7, 21 1/2l behind Dubawi Fifty (9-7) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (2) pol in Feb.
Swashbuckle 5-2 (11-4) Whipped round start, soon led, ridden over 3f out, pressed from over 2f until well inside final furlong, stayed on, won at Southwell 2m (4) pol in Mar beating Shine Baby Shine (10-3) by 1l, 4 ran.
Continuum 100-1 (9-7) Dwelt, held up in 5th, headway into 3rd over 2f out, 2nd over 1f out, lost 2nd inside final furlong, kept on same pace in 3rd, 3rd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Watersmeet (9-7) at Kempton 2m stks (2) pol in Feb.
