in touch, tracked leader over 5f out, driven over 3f out, soon lost place, weakened over 1f out
mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway centre over 2f out, stayed on to challenge inside final furlong, went 2nd near finish, just held
led, ridden 2f out, stayed on under pressure until headed and lost 2 places near finish
tracked leaders, ridden and effort 2f out, kept on same pace under pressure final furlong, no impression towards finish
raced keenly, mid-division, outpaced 3f out, weakened 2f out
mid-division, ridden 2f out, never able to challenge
in touch, chased leader 3f out, ridden 2f out, lost place over 1f out, no extra final fulrong
towards rear of mid-division, outpaced over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, never on terms
in touch, outpaced 3f out, soon ridden and lost place, no impression final 2f
held up behind, headway 3f out, soon ridden, went 2nd over 1f out, stayed on under pressure inside final furlong to lead near finish
chased leaders to over 3f out, weakened and eased 2f out
mid-division, ridden to chase leaders 3f out, switched inside over 1f out, kept on same pace, no impression
held up behind, ridden and headway on outside over 2f out, kept on same pace under pressure from over 1f out, never on terms
switched left after start, always behind, lost touch and eased over 2f out
switched left after start, behind, ridden and some headway over 2f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leader, reminder over 6f out, lost place over 5f out, weakened over 2f out
A really tough puzzle to solve with several coming into this race at the top of their game and others arguably well handicapped on their best form. La Estrella has won six in a row and 11 of his last 13 starts in total but all of those victories have been on the all-weather and most in claimers - he faces a tough task here. Bollin Judith has gone up 7lb since winning comfortably at Newcastle while Dark Ranger was put up 8lb after winning over 2m2f here last month though may be improving. Gifted Leader and Ocean Transit are both winning hurdlers but the latter probably needs further than this, unlike Montparnasse who has been struggling to get home lately. Dazinski is 2lb lower than when second over C&D last July and Darley Sun's half-brother Mountain Hiker is interesting in his first try over 2m, but we'll stick with HAWK MOUNTAIN. He is in much better form than when disappointing in this last year, looking as good as ever when making a winning reappearance at Musselburgh where he had Gordonsville and Cat O' Nine Tails behind.
Kazbow (IRE) 10-1 (9-0) Tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 2f out, 12th of 13, 50l behind Yorgunnabelucky (9-1) at Newmarket 1m 6f hcp 0-105 (2) gf in May.
Hawk Mountain (UAE) 11-1 (9-5) Held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, led last 100 yards, kept on well, won at Musselburgh 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May beating Peintre D'argent (8-0) by 1 3/4l, 10 ran.
Mountain Hiker (IRE) 11-2 (9-3) Slowly into stride, never travelled in last pair and pushed along throughout, well behind final 3f, last of 7, 34l behind Huygens (9-3) at Newmarket 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) gd in May.
Dazinski 2-1fav (9-9) Held up towards rear, pushed along over 4f out, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, went 3rd close home, not able to challenge front pair, 3rd of 7, 3 1/2l behind Cosimo De Medici (8-13) at Goodwood 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May.
Beat The Rush 7-1 (9-6) Pulled hard, tracked leaders, hard driven and effort over 2f out, kept on under pressure, never able to challenge, 3rd of 14, 8l behind High Office (9-2) at Musselburgh 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Apr.
Gordonsville 16-1 (9-7) Held up mid-division, headway over 4f out, joined leader over 3f out, led over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, kept on, 3rd of 10, 2 3/4l behind Hawk Mountain (9-5) at Musselburgh 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May.
Montparnasse (IRE) 20-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders, ridden and effort centre 2f out, weakened final furlong, 14th of 16, 22l behind Tepmokea (9-1) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-105 (2) gd in May.
Gifted Leader (USA) 14-1 (8-13) Held up towards rear, headway on outside over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, stayed on to 2nd 1f out, stayed on, 2nd of 14, 1 1/2l behind Veiled (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May.
Ocean Transit (IRE) 9-1 (8-6) Chased leaders, effort over 2f out, soon hung left under pressure, stayed on inside final furlong, never able to challenge, 3rd of 10, 2l behind Activate (9-4) at Haydock 2m hcp 0-95 (3) gf in May.
Bollin Judith 5-2 (9-10) Tracked leaders, switched right over 3f out, led 2f out, soon clear, ridden and ran on strongly, won at Newcastle 2m hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May beating Petella (8-10) by 5l, 10 ran.
Accumulate 11-2 (9-6) In touch, ridden and not clear run over 1f out, stayed on to chase winner inside final furlong, 2nd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Arab League (9-7) at Haydock 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in May.
Descaro (USA) 13-8fav (9-9) Held up, ridden 3f out, hung right and headway over 1f out, stayed on to go 3rd near finish, 3rd of 7, 2l behind Jackday (9-3) at Ripon 2m hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Cat O' Nine Tails 14-1 (8-12) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 7th of 14, 19l behind Veiled (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May.
Grande Caiman (IRE) 6-5fav (8-9) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, stayed on strongly to lead well inside final furlong, all out, won at Lingfield 1m 4f clm stks (6) pol in Mar beating Resplendent Light (8-13) by shd, 8 ran.
Dark Ranger 28-1 (8-7) Mid-division, headway over 3f out, led 2f out, ridden out and edged right final furlong, won at York 2m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in May beating Blackstone Vegas (8-7) by 2 1/4l, 17 ran.
Dubara Reef (IRE) 11-2 (9-7) With leader on outer, ridden over 2f out, led narrowly entering final furlong, kept on under pressure, headed towards finish, 2nd of 15, nk behind No Time For Tears (7-12) at Nottingham 1m 6f hcp 0-70 (5) gf in May.
La Estrella (USA) 1-4fav (10-0) Held up in 5th, headway over 6f out, led entering final 3f, clear when shaken up over 2f out, very easily, won at Southwell 1m 4f clm stks (5) fbs in May beating Host The Band (9-1) by 5l, 6 ran.
