held up in mid-division, under pressure halfway, soon beaten
held up in touch, hard driven halfway, kept on same pace
tracked leaders, hard ridden over 3f out, soon outpaced, headway under pressure approaching final furlong, stayed on strongly, never nearer
slowly into stride, always behind
held up in touch, driven to challenge over 2f out, every chance over 1f out, outpaced by winner
held up in mid-division, headway over 3f out, soon chasing leaders, stayed on same pace final furlong
led 1f, remained prominent, led again over 3f out, headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, ran on well
prominent, led after 1f, headed over 3f out, soon under pressure, weakened
behind, headway over 3f out, hard ridden over 1f out, stayed on strongly, nearest finish
held up in rear, under pressure halfway, soon beaten
NIRAN is the tentative selection in a race featuring largely unexposed horses, of whom, Burghley and Edinburgh Knight look the most interesting. The selection hails from an in-form yard and impressed on his return to action at Kempton when narrowly getting the better of Tiradito. He's only 4lbs higher for that success but is entitled to improve for the run and he looks capable of making further progress. It's hard to be confident with so many lightly raced horses in opposition though and Burghley certainly impressed when winning impressively over course and distance in January. The second and third have won since and he was impressive but it's not difficult to pick holes in the form. Edinburgh Knight justified strong market support in convincing style on his reappearance at Lingfield and he still holds entries in three classics. It would be folly to underestimate him but the majority of this field may have more to offer so it's hard to be confident about his chances or those of the selection, Niran.
Niran (IRE) 2-1fav (9-8) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, led inside final furlong, edged left towards finish, driven out, won at Kempton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb beating Tiradito (9-3) by nk, 5 ran.
Burghley 7-2 (9-3) Made all, ran on well, comfortably, won at Wolverhampton 7f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Jan beating Duellist (9-3) by 2 1/2l, 11 ran.
Kumbeshwar 9-2 (8-13) Made most, ridden and pressed from 2f out, driven inside final furlong, held on gamely, won at Catterick 7f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Nov beating Count Bertoni (8-11) by nk, 9 ran.
Gertmegalush (IRE) 10-1 (9-7) Held up last, pushed along well over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, went 3rd near finish, 3rd of 5, 2l behind Ghazwah (8-11) at Kempton 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Tiradito (USA) 5-1 (9-3) Keen early, held up in 4th, ridden and headway over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, edged right towards finish, kept on, 2nd of 5, nk behind Niran (9-8) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Solstice 9-2 (8-7) Tracked leaders, led well over 1f out, stayed on well, won at Southwell 6f 3yo mdn stks (5) fbs in Feb beating Binthere Dunthat (8-12) by 1 1/2l, 6 ran.
Amenable (IRE) 100-1 (8-10) Made all, driven over 2f out, soon strongly challenged, stayed on well under pressure, won at Southwell 6f 2yo mdn auc stks (5) fbs in Sep beating Horseradish (8-11) by 3/4l, 11 ran.
Edinburgh Knight (IRE) 11-4fav (9-3) Held up in mid-division on outer, smooth headway 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, quickened well and pushed along to lead final 100 yards, comfortably, won at Lingfield 7f 3yo mdn stks (5) pol in Feb beating Caracal (9-3) by 1 1/4l, 13 ran.
Transfixed (IRE) 16-1 (8-6) Prominent, effort on inside over 2f out, disputing lead from over 1f out until headed near finish, 3rd of 7, 1/2l behind Amary (9-7) at Kempton 7f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Slikback Jack (IRE) 14-1 (8-12) Behind, under pressure halfway, headway over 2f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong, won at Wolverhampton 6f mdn auc stks (6) pol in Feb beating Flaxen Lake (8-12) by 3/4l, 9 ran.
Electric City (IRE) 16-1 (9-7) Led early, chased leader until over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened entering final furlong, last of 6, 8l behind Thomas Baines (8-10) at Wolverhampton 7f 2yo hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Sep.
