prominent, ridden and headway 4f out, challenged 2f out, every chance 1f out, not match winner
led, ridden and quickened over 3f out, headed over 2f out, weakened 1f out
held up, ridden and went wide 3f out, soon tailed off
chased leader, ridden over 3f out, led over 2f out, hard ridden 1f out, ran on well
A small field goes to post for the finale and as usual the betting will be the best guide as to what is expected of the newcomers, but the principals look to be Blue Romance, Barabbas and Ruby Too, and we shall side with Blue Romance. The gelding from the Paul Nicholls yard is a well bred son of Bob Back. His stable have a good record in this sphere and he will not have to be anything out of the ordinary to score at this level. Barabbas is a flat bred four-year-old by Royal Academy. He has obviously had his problems but he comes from a shrewd yard and any market confidence should be noted. Ruby Too is bred to be suited by a longer trip, while Native Cunning has shown virtually nothing so far, so we are happy to side with Blue Romance.