prominent, disputed 4f out, soon led outright down centre, ridden when joined and past by winner just before final furlong, soon outpaced, hard pressed by rival when came close on far rails entering final furlong, rallied and kept inside final 110 yards, no chance with winner
dwelt, held up, gradual headway from 3f out, chased leader 2f out, ridden when led just before final furlong, ran on well inside final 110 yards, pushed out, comfortable
prominent, chased leader 4f out, hung right 3f out, dropped to rear 2f out, kept on and passed beaten rival to take fifth inside final 110 yards
prominent, chased leader 3f out, soon ridden, outpaced and steadily lost ground from 2f out, kept on one pace near finish
held up in rear, steady headway from 3f out, switched to far-side rail before final two furlongs, bit short of room when challenging for second entering final furlong, unable to quicken inside final 110 yards
led, set good tempo and opened three-length lead before halfway, joined 4f out, soon headed, gradually weakened from 1f out, lost fifth final 110 yards
Despite taking a fierce hold, Croeso Cymraeg battled back when headed at Leicester and was only beaten half-a-length. Fast Steps is still 4lb higher than when winning an amateurs’ race at Epsom last summer but still looks a threat. SHAMEKH has switched stables since landing a 7f maiden at Leicester last year but is the type to improve as a four-year-old and he is bred for this sort of trip. Jean Danjou is also unexposed and is preferred to Richard P Smith and In The Breeze of the others.
Croeso Cymraeg 10-1 (9-5) Took keen hold towards rear, headway to lead 7f out, clear 4f out, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, rallied close home, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Duke Of Verona (9-8) at Leicester 1m 4f hcp (4) hvy in Apr.
Fast Steps (IRE) 10-3fav (11-2) Close up near side, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 13th of 20, 12 1/2l behind The Menstone Gem (10-4) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcp (4) gd in Sep.
Shamekh 10-11fav (9-7) Chased leaders, went 2nd over 2f out, ridden to challenge over 1f out, led inside final furlong, hard pressed, held on, won at Leicester 7f mdn stks (4) gf in Jul beating Mr Stanley (9-7) by shd, 7 ran.
Richard P Smith (IRE) 13-2 (9-10) Held up in mid-division, weakened final 2f, 8th of 13, 16l behind Lunar Jet (9-5) at Redcar 1m 2f hcp (5) sft in Apr.
In The Breeze (IRE) 11-4fav (9-1) Keen close up, headway 4f out, pushed along and weakened 2f out, 5th of 7, 17 1/4l behind Duke Of Verona (9-8) at Leicester 1m 4f hcp (4) hvy in Apr.
Jean Danjou 6-1 (9-5) Tracked leaders on inside, pushed along over 2f out, weakening when hung left over 1f out, last of 8, 9 1/2l behind Capital Theory (9-7) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (4) pol in Dec.
