in touch, ridden halfway, edged left 2f out, soon weakened
raced wide close up, ridden 2f out, no impression final furlong
awkwardly away in rear, ridden halfway, kept on, never near leaders
slow into stride towards rear, ridden halfway, headway 1f out, no impression final furlong
chased leaders, ridden to chase winner 2f out, kept on same pace and lost 2nd inside final furlong
in touch, pushed along halfway, ridden and headway over 1f out, stayed on to go 2nd inside final furlong
always in rear
chased winner 3f, weakened final furlong
Taurus twins won last year's renewal off a higher mark and a recent third at Haydock suggests he'll make another bold bid today. LAST SOVEREIGN won four times last season and has already gone very close on a couple of occasions this year including at Redcar last time. Ollie Pears' charge is fancied come out best with a similar effort today given October's course and distance winner Demora is now 14lb higher in the weights and Whaileyy is struggling to find any sort of form. Blanc De Chine has a shout after scoring on Turf at Lingfield last month but Newmarket winner Sir Maximilian looks a better bet dropping back down in class.
Whaileyy (IRE) 20-1 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 11th of 15, 11l behind Hamza (9-4) at Newmarket 6f hcp (2) gf in May.
Last Sovereign 7-1 (9-5) Bumped soon after start, tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, every chance throughout final furlong, ran on just held, 2nd of 8, ns behind Jack Luey (9-5) at Redcar 5f hcp 0-90 (3) gs in May.
Naabegha 7-2fav (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced inside final 2f, lost place over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 9, 8l behind Steps (8-8) at Thirsk 5f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in May.
Sir Maximilian (IRE) 12-1 (8-9) Slowly into stride, held up, ridden 2f out, headway over 1f out, no impression final 100 yards, 7th of 19, 2 3/4l behind Kingsgate Choice (9-4) at York 5f hcp 105 (2) gd in May.
Blanc De Chine (IRE) 12-1 (9-2) Crossed over to lead on rail and hampered rivals after 1f, pushed out final furlong, ran on well, won at Lingfield 5f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May beating Titus Gent (8-13) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Demora 7-2 (9-7) Led, ridden halfway, headed and hampered over 1f out, switched right and kept on inside final furlong, 2nd of 10, 1 3/4l behind Silken Express (9-5) at Southwell 5f fll hcp (4) fbs in May.
Tax Free (IRE) 7-2 (9-7) Close up, headway over 1f out, effort inside final furlong, no impression towards finish, 4th of 6, 1 1/4l behind Rothesay Chancer (8-13) at Musselburgh 5f hcp 0-85 (4) gf.
First In Command (IRE) 11-1 (8-7) Chased leader, effort to challenge over 1f out, ridden inside final furlong, kept on same pace, no impression in 4th final 75 yards, 4th of 9, 4l behind Steps (8-8) at Thirsk 5f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in May.
Taurus Twins 22-1 (9-0) Led stands' side, headed over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 13, 1l behind Chester Aristocrat (8-10) at Haydock 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fm in May.