led, strongly pressed from 2f out, stayed on under pressure, narrowly headed inside final furlong, rallied gamely near finish, just failed
held up in mid-division, pushed along halfway, weakened 3f out
held up in rear, driven along and beaten over 2f out
mid-division, ridden and struggling 3f out, went moderate 4th inside final furlong
slowly away, pulled hard, held up, ridden 3f out, soon beaten
took keen hold, tracked leader after 1f to 2f out, soon ridden and weakened
sweating, held up last, reminders halfway, struggling well before straight, tailed off
tracked leaders in 4th, effort 2f out, chased leaders inside final 2f, led inside final furlong, driven and kept on gamely
Nonrunner
A tight race on the figures with the suggestion being AUSTRALIA DAY with Fair Gale and Amanjena other possibilities but in truth a number of these could go close. Hustle ran well on his second attempt at this trip behind a well handicapped winner last time and is open to improvement as may Trans Siberian be after just ten starts. Amanda Carter steps up in class but is progressive and has won five of her sixteen starts which is testament to how well she's been placed. Bandama has been a consistent performer at a high level but is on a long losing run whilst Samsons Son has been running creditably but appears held by the handicapper. Fair Gale ran on well to win over twelve furlongs at Salisbury but those behind have done little for the form and Amanjena may emerge as a bigger danger to the selection. She came up short in two attempts in Listed company but ran a decent race in a handicap when last seen at the end of June and may have benefited from the break. Australia Day has improved markedly for a change of tactics and recorded back to back successes before finishing in midfield in a heritage handicap that was won by Ask The Butler. We saw several races won from the front at this track during the Royal meeting so the track should suit his style of racing. It's a concern that there's quite a lot of pace in the race and that could play into the hands of Hustle but Ted Durcan is taken to get the fractions right and bring Australia Day home in front.
Australia Day (IRE) 14-1 (8-8) Led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 16, 5l behind Ask The Butler (8-11) at Sandown 1m 2f hcap (2) gd in Aug.
Bandama (IRE) 4-1 (9-13) Held up in main group, ridden 4f out, driven and headway over 1f out, chased winner inside final furlong, weakened near finish, 4th of 6, 2 1/2l behind Bee Sting (9-6) at Newmarket 1m 2f hcp 0-90 (3) gf in Aug.
Cheshire Prince 16-1 (9-1) Held up in rear, raced keenly, pushed along over 4f out, headway over 3f out, soon lost place and behind, last of 6, 19l behind Foxhaven (9-1) at Chester 1m 4f lst stk (1) gs.
Samsons Son 33-1 (8-11) Chased leaders, ridden and stayed on same pace final 2f, 5th of 20, 9l behind Presvis (9-1) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp 0-105 (2) gd.
Trans Siberian 9-1 (9-9) Led until over 1f out, soon weakened, 5th of 15, 4l behind Irish Mayhem (9-1) at Great Leighs 1m hcp 0-90 (3) pol in Aug.
Amanda Carter 8-1 (9-7) Tracked leaders, headway to lead approaching final furlong, ridden and kept on well, won at Newcastle 1m 2f hcap (4) gf in Jul beating Jamieson Gold (9-9) by 4l, 11 ran.
Fair Gale 14-1 (9-7) Made all, stayed on gamely, ridden out, won at Salisbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp (4) gf in Aug beating Trianon (8-11) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Hustle (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Broke well, hampered after 1f, lost place and dropped to rear, headway into 2nd final furlong, no chance with winner, 2nd of 13, 3 1/2l behind Crackentorp (8-8) at Lingfield 1m 2f 3yo hcp (3) pol.
Amanjena 16-1 (9-2) Tracked winner, took keen hold, every chance from over 2f out to 1f out, kept on one pace, 2nd of 10, 2 1/2l behind Swinging Sixties (9-4) at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo hcp (3) gf in Jun.
Folly Lodge 14-1 (10-0) In touch, ridden along 3f out, weakened 2f out, eased final furlong, last of 8, 21l behind Persian Sea (9-3) at Doncaster 7f fll hcp (3) gd in Jul.
