switched left start, held up in touch in rear, ridden 2f out, never a factor
close up, in touch halfway, headway to track leading pair 3f out, ridden 3f out, every chance when edged left inside final furlong, ran on and bumped near finish
held up in touch, ridden and headway over 1f out, led entering final furlong, ran on and edged left near finish
in touch, headway on outer to track leaders halfway, joined leader over 3f out, ridden to lead narrowly 2f out, headed entering final furlong, edged left and lost 3rd near finish
raced wide, prominent, led over 3f out, soon joined, ridden and headed narrowly 2f out, stayed on to go 3rd near finish
led 2f, tracked leaders, pushed along 4f out, weakened over 2f out, tailed off
raced wide in touch, lost place 10f out, not a factor after
GOOD RUN (NAP) is proving hard to keep right but has won three of his five starts to date. The Godolphin charge was returning from an absence when scoring over track and trip in November and is 5lb higher today. Hamelin ended a long losing run with a victory over 1m4f last month while Silva Eclipse ended last year with a hat-trick but hasn’t raced since August. Byron Flyer was ahead of Gavlar and Calvinist when runner-up at Wolverhampton last time while Swashbuckle is upped in class for his reappearance.
Hamelin (IRE) 11-1 (9-7) Towards rear, headway 2f out, ridden 1f out, kept on to lead towards finish, won at Newcastle 1m 4f hcp (3) pol in Feb beating Petite Jack (8-13) by 3/4l, 9 ran.
Good Run (FR) 2-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders until lost place 6f out, in touch in rear, headway and edged left over 1f out, ridden to lead entering final furlong, ran on, won at Newcastle 2m hcp (3) pol in Nov beating Ajman Prince (8-4) by 1 1/2l, 6 ran.
Gavlar 40-1 (9-6) Mid-division, not clear run 2f out, headway over 1f out, chased leaders inside final furlong, never a threat, 4th of 11, 1 3/4l behind Haines (9-6) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (2) pol in Feb.
Byron Flyer 7-2 (9-0) Chased leaders, every chance over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 2nd of 11, nk behind Haines (9-6) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (2) pol in Feb.
Calvinist 7-2 (8-12) Soon led, headed over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 6, 16 1/4l behind Watersmeet (9-3) at Chelmsford City 2m stks (2) pol in Mar.
Swashbuckle 9-4fav (9-0) Held up in touch, headway over 2f out, every chance over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 3rd of 13, 4 1/4l behind Slunovrat (9-10) at York 2m hcp stks (4) gs in Sep.
Injam (IRE) 15-2 (9-3) Mid-division, headway 3f out, one pace when not much room 2f out, soon hung left and well beaten, 10th of 12, 15 3/4l behind Withhold (8-13) at Haydock 2m hcp (4) gd in Oct.
Silva Eclipse 6-5fav (8-8) Took keen hold tracking leader, carried wide on bend after 2f, led over 2f out, soon strongly challenged, hard ridden, all out, won at Ripon 2m hcp (4) gd in Aug beating Wishing Well (8-12) by 1l, 6 ran.