dwelt, soon in touch on inside, effort when not much room on rail, 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
held up towards rear, ran on final furlong, not reached leaders
slowly into stride, behind, still in rear and plenty to do when switched left round field, over 1f out, stayed on final furlong to take 2nd near finish
chased leader, ridden halfway, weakened quickly over 1f out
mid-division, ridden halfway, no impression on leaders, final 2f
prominent on inside rail, ridden halfway, weakened quickly over 1f out
in rear when hampered, 2f out, no danger after
held up, headway on outside over 1f out, edged right and ran on under pressure final furlong
led, headed over 1f out, faded inside final furlong
chased leaders on outside, ridden halfway, soon weakened
held up in rear, headway over 1f out, stayed on under presure final furlong
prominent, ridden to lead over 1f out, in command final furlong, stayed on well
chased leaders on outside, weakened 2f out
Holbeck Ghyll has shown enough to win this at the expense of Blessed Place and Little Edward. The selection won three races on the trot around this time last year and as a consequence has found life a little tougher this year. He did manage though to get his head in front at Goodwood on his penultimate outing and was put up a further nine pounds. He then disappointed at Haydock last time out in a better race than this so could be worth siding with once more as we feel he hasn¿t finished improving just yet. Blessed Place has hit form and last month landed himself in the winners enclosure twice. His latest win at Pontefract saw him get the better of Namir by a short head but a four pound rise means he runs off a career high mark and it remains to be seen whether the handicapper has caught up with him. Little Edward came good on his seasonal reappearance after having a year off. A change of scenery clearly made the difference and a six pound rise doesn¿t seem too harsh so he is another to note in the markert. But for the winner we will side with Holbeck Ghyll who still looks on the up grade.
Holbeck Ghyll (IRE) 5-2fav (8-7) Chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 8th of 13, 3 1/2l behind The Jobber (9-1) at Haydock 5f hcp 0-100 (2) gf.
Matsunosuke 16-1 (7-5) Held up behind, clipped heels well over 2f out and unseated rider in race won by Machinist (8-4) at Ascot 5f hcap (2) gf in Jul, 23 ran.
Little Edward 25-1 (9-6) Chased leaders, led over 1f out, kept on well, ridden out, won at Sandown 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Jul beating Chinalea (9-7) by 1l, 9 ran.
Chinalea (IRE) 25-1 (8-6) Led far side group until over 1f out, soon weakened, 12th of 24, 5l behind Fantasy Believer (9-2) at Goodwood 6f hcp 0-95 (2) gf.
Who's Winning (IRE) 7-1 (8-7) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 5th of 11, 2l behind Guildenstern (9-2) at Newmarket 6f hcp 0-90 (3) gf.
Blessed Place 7-1 (9-4) Made all, ridden over 1f out, kept on gamely final furlong, won at Pontefract 5f hcp 0-70 (5) gf in Jul beating Namir (9-5) by a shd, 17 ran.
Divine Spirit 8-1 (9-3) Held up, not clear run over 1f out, ridden and ran on final furlong, never dangerous, 7th of 13, 7l behind Blue Maeve (9-1) at Pontefract 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Forest Dane 4-1 (8-11) Took keen hold, held up behind leaders, ridden 2f out, no extra over 1f out, 4th of 8, 3l behind Bold Minstrel (9-12) at Windsor 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
