chased leaders, not fluent 3rd, went 2nd before 3 out, led after 2 out, driven approaching last, headed narrowly flat, rallied to lead close home
held up towards rear, 6th and outpaced 3 out, well beaten from next
held up in mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, ridden after next, went 2nd before last where landed awwkwardly, led narrowly flat, headed close home
tracked leader, led after 2nd, hit 2 out, soon headed, 4th and weakening when mistake last
held up towards rear, jumped right 3rd and pushed along, well beaten 3 out, pulled up after
jumped right, always well behind, tailed off 5th, pulled up after
tracked leaders, closed 3rd, not fluent next, lost place 5th, soon struggling
led until after 2nd, prominent, weakened 2 out
mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, pressing winner after 2 out, 3rd and held when not fluent last, one pace
Innocent Touch, a winner at Bangor in May, has gone up 3lb for finishing runner-up at Cartmel but MYSTIC SKY is only 1lb higher than when beaten 1l in a better race over the course and distance in June and gets the vote. Parthenius bounced back to form with a cracking effort at Aintree in June and has the scope to do better while Well Said created a 50/1 shock at Worcester and the runner-up won easily next time. Red Hot Chilly landed a lower-grade handicap at Worcester and couldn't cope with a 4lb rise when fancied at Market Rasen.
Innocent Touch (IRE) 6-1 (11-10) Tracked winner from 1st, not fluent 2nd or 5th, every chance last, stayed on, held final 100 yards, 2nd of 9, 1 1/4l behind Wells De Lune (11-10) at Cartmel 2m 1f hcp (3) gd in Jul.
Mystic Sky 10-1 (10-9) Mid-division, headway after 3 out, weakened next, tailed off, 9th of 13, dist behind L'inganno Felice (11-5) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp lst (1) gd in Jul.
Parthenius (GER) 9-2 (11-4) Held up behind, headway before 3 out, soon tracked winner, every chance when not fluent last, ridden and one pace when switched right flat, no extra, 2nd of 8, 1 3/4l behind Cause Toujours (11-6) at Aintree 2m hcp (3) gd in Jun.
Regulation (IRE) 16-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, tracked leader 2nd, led 4th until ridden and headed on home turn, kept on same pace, no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 11l behind Red Tornado (11-9) at Stratford 2m hcp (3) gd in Jul.
Miss Spent (IRE) 11-2 (11-12) Tracked leading trio, went 3rd 4th until next, ridden and weakened soon after, 5th of 6, dist behind G For Ginger (11-10) at Worcester 2m hcp (4) gd in Jul.
Well Said (IRE) 50-1 (11-0) Held up in rear, headway 4 out, challenged 2 out, led last, edged left flat, driven out, won at Worcester 2m mdn (5) gf in Jul beating Beach Break (10-12) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Gran Maestro (USA) 12-1 (10-6) Mid-division, ridden after 6th, soon lost place, well beaten 3 out, 7th of 10, 17 3/4l behind William Of Orange (11-9) at Cartmel 2m 6f hcp (3) gd in Jul.
Mercian King (IRE) 13-2 (11-5) Chased winner throughout, no impression before 3 out, kept on for 2nd, 2nd of 6, 15l behind G For Ginger (11-10) at Worcester 2m hcp (4) gd in Jul.
Red Hot Chilly (IRE) 2-1fav (11-11) Held up in touch, headway 3 out, chased leaders next, challenging when mistake and hampered last, soon weakened, 5th of 7, 4 3/4l behind Collodi (11-11) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp (4) gd in Jul.