held up mid-division, switched right and headway over 1f out, soon ridden, stayed on well inside final furlong, took 3rd near finish
led, ridden over 1f out, kept on until headed and no extra near finish
held up, driven over 2f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, not reach leaders
tracked leaders, ridden and effort when edged left and bumped 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up, driven and outpaced 2f out, never on terms
held up mid-division, ridden and headway on outside over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, not reach leaders
behind, outpaced 2f out, never dangerous
raced keenly in touch, ridden to chase leader over 1f out, kept on and every chance final furlong, just held
tracked leader, ridden and effort when edged right and bumped 1f out, no extra final furlong
Green Park disappointed at Wolverhampton last time but has claims on his previous win at the same venue so he cannot be discounted but more solid claims are held by HOTHAM, who gets the vote with Master Rooney rated the best of the rest. The selection has shown a decent level of form in recent starts going down narrowly when second in a York handicap earlier this month having not been disgraced in Ayr's Bronze Cup the time before and he can go one better than last time today. Richard Whittaker's Tabaret disappointed at Southwell on the Fibresand last time but is likely to do better back on turf today, while Jeremy Gask's Ivory Silk has been running consistently well but may just be a shade high in the weights. Jim Goldie's Northern Fling is gradually slipping to a decent mark and cannot be discounted but he is hard to back on the evidence of recent form and of more interest may be Bryan Smart's Master Rooney, who tackles five furlongs for the first time today but has shown speed over further. Hotham is very much the form horse of the race though and he is hard to oppose.
Master Rooney (IRE) 14-1 (8-12) Mid-division, ridden halfway, weakened over 1f out, 16th of 17, 15l behind Able Master (9-5) at York 6f hcp 0-100 (2) gs in Sep.
Tabaret 12-1 (9-2) Held up, never dangerous, 9th of 12, 9l behind Invincible Lad (8-12) at Southwell 5f hcp 0-90 (3) fbs in Sep.
Hotham 16-1 (8-12) Dwelt, raced centre in rear, ridden 2f out, headway 1f out, ran on to take 2nd post, 2nd of 18, nk behind Russian Spirit (9-2) at York 5f hcp 0-85 (4) gd.
Northern Fling 11-1 (9-3) Always behind far side group, 11th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Guto (8-0) at Ayr 5f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Sep.
Argentine (IRE) 14-1 (9-12) Raced stand side, in touch, shaken up over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 10th of 15, 10l behind We Have A Dream (9-1) at Ayr 6f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in Jul.
Green Park (IRE) 11-2 (9-5) Towards rear, ridden over 2f out, not troubled leaders, 7th of 13, 6l behind Gwilym (8-11) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Ivory Silk 9-1 (9-4) Outpaced in rear, kept on final furlong, no impression, 3rd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Mondovi (9-0) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Sep.
Sands Crooner (IRE) 20-1 (8-9) Held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, never able to challenge, 9th of 17, 3 1/2l behind Even Bolder (8-0) at Ascot 5f app hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
Bravely (IRE) 17-2 (9-2) Chased leaders, weakened over 1f out, 14th of 15, 10l behind Select Committee (8-11) at Redcar 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
King Of Swords (IRE) 7-1 (8-5) Mid-division, hard driven over 1f out, never nearer, 6th of 17, 2 3/4l behind Even Bolder (8-0) at Ascot 5f app hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
