steadied start, in rear, ridden over 3f out, never near leaders
made all, ridden and came wide into straight over 4f out, hung left over 2f out, driven out
keen, held up intouch, effort 2f out, no impression final furlong
chased winner, ridden over 3f out, no impression final furlong
held up, ridden over 3f out, no impression
tracked leaders, effort when short of 2f out, ridden and kept on same pace final furlong
In a race lacking strength, STAGE ACCLAIM is preferred to Extremely So and Purely By Chance. Doctor Richard Newland is adept at placing his horses and looks to have found a fine opportunity for Stage Acclaim, who ran well over hurdles last time to advertise his wellbeing. Prior to that the gelding had finished second off this mark at Kempton and on his jumps rating he's thrown in. Extremely So is interesting as her course form figures are 2-2-1. The concern would be that she tries this trip for the first time on the back of a poor Wolverhampton run, so there's reason enough to take her on with stamina unproven. In contrast Purely By Chance has stamina in abundance and ran a fair race to take second at Folkestone recently. Jeff Pearce's mare races off the same mark of 52 but just lacks a change of gear and will suffer if this small-field event gets tactical. Leyte Gulf and Snowberry Hill would both be of more interest were this at Wolverhampton so with Dovedon Earl having done little to suggest he's up to winning a race like this, Stage Acclaim looks set to score.
Leyte Gulf (USA) 20-1 (9-5) Slowly into stride, held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, weakened well over 1f out, 9th of 11, 14l behind Reality Show (9-1) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol.
Stage Acclaim (IRE) 10-1 (8-11) Always prominent, tracked leader over 5f out, challenged going well 3f out, soon narrow lead, headed inside final 2f out, driven and rallied near finish, always just held, 2nd of 13, nk behind Graylyn Ruby (9-3) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jun.
Extremely So 13-2 (9-1) Led over 9f out, set steady pace, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 11, 8l behind Peintre D'argent (8-7) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Apr.
Purely By Chance 15-8fav (8-5) Held up in 4th, headway over 1f out, went 2nd entering final no impression on winner, 2nd of 6, 2l behind Calzaghe (9-4) at Folkestone 2m hcp 0-60 (6) gf.
Dovedon Earl 12-1 (8-4) In rear, never near leaders, 7th of 10, 8l behind Lastroseofsummer (8-3) at Newmarket 1m 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Jun.
Snowberry Hill (USA) 14-1 (8-6) Keen held up, headway to lead after 4f, ridden and headed over 1f out, kept on one pace, 4th of 10, 1 1/2l behind Moscow Oznick (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol.