in touch in 5th on outside, chased leading trio and pushed along over 2f out, driven along one pace and no impression when carried left inside final furlong
held up, always behind
with leaders on outside, ridden 2f out, soon weakened , eased when no chance final furlong
slight lead on inside, ridden and narrowly headed 2f out, stayed chasing winner under pressure until no extra and dropped to 3rd final 100 yards
slowly into stride and always behind
raced wide towards rear, headway and switched right well over 1f out, chased leaders over 1f out, chasing winner when carried right final 100 yards, kept to pressure
behind, ridden and struggling halfway, never dangerous
with leader, led narrowly 2f out, ridden and hung right from over 1f out, ran on, held on towards finish
chased leading trio, ridden on inside 2f out, driven and weakened over 1f out
behind, headway on inside over 1f out, kept on to pressure inside final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders
Nonrunner
As in the first race, draw 11 can be successfully overcome again, this time by MON BRAV who is taken to land the closer at the expense of Johannesgray and Erebus. Our selection is up 3lbs following an arguably unlucky success at Windsor, when he found one of Henry Candy's too good. Jamie Spencer returns to ride and he looks sure to go well under similar conditions; he started life in handicaps off 82 and still looks feasibly treated therefore off a mark of 78, whilst having won at Beverley this stiff finish isn't a worry. Johannesgray won tidily at Catterick on his second start before finding the demands of a handicap too much at Chester. He improved upon that last time behind Kellys Eye though and David Brown's horse has since franked the form in style; the feeling is there is more to come from Dandy Nicholls' horse and from a good draw he may be about to show it. Erebus won well enough over this trip last time and is another to consider despite a 4lb rise. He was well on top at the close at Chepstow and having gone well over seven won't be stopping at the end; he's unexposed too and should win a race off this mark at some stage. We'll Deal Again is closely matched with Johannesgray on a line through Kellys Eye and should go well having stayed on over five last time; the yard remain in form and James Sullivan looks good for his allowance. He holds Boss Kitty on these terms while Saxby has only won in plating class races and looks harshly treated. This is a tough end to a good card but Mon Brav looks set to give his running and should go very close.
Mon Brav 10-3fav (9-0) Pulled hard, led and disputed, took narrow advantage over 1f out, hard driven and ran on under pressure inside final furlong, headed on line, 2nd of 11, ns behind Vanilla Rum (9-0) at Windsor 6f 3yo stk 0-75 (5) gd.
Bossy Kitty 17-2 (9-6) Not much room soon after start, held up towards rear, headway on inner over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 11, 5l behind Commanche Raider (9-7) at Newcastle 5f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
On The Bounty 150-1 (8-9) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened, 18th of 19, 24l behind Swilly Ferry (8-3) at Doncaster 6f 2yo aut (2) gf in Sep.
Saxby (IRE) 25-1 (9-4) Held up in last place, ridden and headway approching final furlong, never nearer, 4th of 7, 5l behind Fibs And Flannel (8-12) at Beverley 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf in Apr.
Penrod Ballantyne (IRE) 15-2 (8-13) Held up in rear, never a factor, 6th of 8, 9l behind Lockantanks (8-11) at Lingfield 7f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Mar.
We'll Deal Again 7-1 (8-12) With leaders, ridden over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, no extra towards finish, 4th of 11, 1 1/2l behind Commanche Raider (9-7) at Newcastle 5f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Scarboro Warning (IRE) 66-1 (8-12) Steadied start, towards rear, switched left and effort over 1f out, never on terms, 7th of 16, 6l behind Just The Tonic (8-7) at Redcar 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd.
Tamarind Hill (IRE) 8-1 (8-11) Prominent, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 9th of 16, 10l behind Red Scintilla (9-3) at Warwick 6f 3yo hcp 0-65 (6) gd.
Fair Bunny 28-1 (8-12) Prominent, weakened 1f out, 10th of 13, 7l behind Maze (9-9) at Catterick 7f hcp 0-70 (5) gf.
Bubbelas 33-1 (8-8) Towards rear, pushed along 3f out, never dangerous, 13th of 14, 22l behind Cabal (9-6) at Doncaster 1m 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Johannesgray (IRE) 22-1 (9-0) Behind, pushed along when not much room over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, never able to challenge, 7th of 11, 9l behind Kellys Eye (9-2) at Ripon 6f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gd.
Erebus (IRE) 2-1fav (9-0) Pressed leader, ridden to lead when edged left over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, won at Chepstow 6f 3yo stk 0-65 (6) gf in May beating Acquaviva (8-11) by 2l, 6 ran.