steadied start, held up in last place but not far away, headway to chase winner over 1f out, soon driven, lost 2nd towards finish
in touch, ridden 2f out, driven inside final furlong, took 2nd towards finish
keen, chased winner until over 1f out, ridden and soon weakened
in rear, ridden halfway, no impression
in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened from over 1f out
INFIRAAD can make light of the handicapper's assessment and confine Calligrapher and Aunt Nicola to minor roles. Infiraad was not without support ahead of a well contested maiden at the Craven meeting and only needed to be ridden out to score. The second was thoroughly exposed but he won readily enough and had caught the eye on debut last year when finishing third behind Guineas fancy Evasive and should hold his own at a higher level in due course. Calligrapher showed a good attitude at Pontefract before disappointing at Lingfield and isn't obviously well handicapped but runners from his yard have to be accorded respect and market support would be ominous for his opponents. Firebet could get into the mix, as may Folsomprisonblues now that his sights have been lowered whilst Aunt Nicola has progressed steadily thus far and may be able to maintain that but Infiraad is the one that we want to be with.
Wildcat Wizard (USA) 25-1 (8-5) Held up, raced keenly, effort on outside and hanging right over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 9th of 10, 12l behind Ouqba (8-9) at Newmarket 7f lst hcp (1) gf in Apr.
Infiraad 9-2 (9-0) Made all, ridden and joined over 1f out, driven and assertive towards finish, won at Newmarket 7f mdn stks (4) gf in Apr beating Invincible Heart (9-0) by 2l, 14 ran.
Firebet (IRE) 20-1 (9-0) Held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, 2nd of 9, 3/4l behind Crackdown (9-7) at Ripon 1m 3yo hcp 0-95 (3) gf in Apr.
Aunt Nicola 5-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Baileys Cacao (8-12) at Newmarket 6f 2yo lst fll (1) fm in Jun.
Indian Art (IRE) 25-1 (8-9) Mid-division, pushed along over 2f out, soon weakened, 10th of 16, 11l behind Makaamen (9-0) at Newbury 7f 3yo hcp 0-95 (3) gs in Apr.
Folsomprisonblues (IRE) 40-1 (9-0) Raced centre until 3f out, held up, effort 2f out, soon beaten, 7th of 8, 9l behind Vocalised (9-0) at Newbury 7f stks G3 (1) sft in Apr.
Calligrapher (USA) 4-5fav (9-4) Led 1f, tracked leaders afterwards, soon niggled along, ridden over 2f out, no impression over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 4th of 5, 9l behind Global City (9-4) at Lingfield 6f 2yo stks (4) pol in Oct.
Quanah Parker (IRE) 9-1 (8-9) With leader, lost place over 2f out, soon weakened, 17th of 22, 17l behind Total Gallery (8-9) at Redcar 6f 2yo Listed auc stks (1) gd in Oct.
