slowly into stride, soon in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
made all, ridden and ran on final furlong
mid-division, staying on when not clear run inside final furlong, switched left and kept on
chased winner, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
mid-division, lost place over 3f out, ridden and stayed on under pressure final furlong
held up, headway to go 3rd over 2f out, soon ridden and kept on same pace
held up towards rear, never near leaders
close up, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out
in rear, some headway on outside 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up in last place, never near leaders
keen in touch, lost place over 2f out, rallied over 1f out, stayed on to take 2nd inside final furlong
With not too many here lining up in form, Crossbow Creek can be fancied to defy topweight, with Love Always and Solo Flight seen as the main dangers. Crossbow Creek is a useful dual-purpose performer, and lines up here on the back of a fair second under a big weight at Folkestone last month. A classy performer over jumps as well, he is being aimed at the Ebor, and a win here will help him get a high enough rating to get into the big York marathon. Love Always gets nearly a stone from the selection and is still not badly treated on past form, while Solo Flight is not the horse he once was for Barry Hills but cannot be discounted. The rest here have something to prove on current form, and we have no hesitation in returning to Crossbow Creek as the answer.
Crossbow Creek 9-1 (9-13) Mid-division, headway 6f out, soon chasing leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon chasing winner, stayed on, 2nd of 9, 2l behind Pentatonic (9-13) at Folkestone 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Jul.
Invasian (IRE) 25-1 (8-12) Pulled hard, prominent, led 7f out to 2f out, weakened quickly over 1f out, 6th of 8, 6l behind Tears of A Clown (8-12) at Ascot 1m 2f hcp 0-105 (2) gs in Jul.
Eva Soneva So Fast (IRE) 16-1 (9-10) Held up, headway over 2f out, soon no impression, 12th of 14, 8l behind John Terry (9-11) at Newmarket 1m 4f hcap (3) gf in Jul.
Sienna Storm (IRE) 7-1 (9-11) Held up, tracked leader after 3f, ridden over 3f out, effort on stand side over 2f out, weakened quickly 1f out, 5th of 7, 10l behind Castle Howard (10-0) at Windsor 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) gs in Jun.
Chocolate Caramel (USA) 7-2 (9-7) Pulled hard, tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened and eased, last of 6, 43l behind Broughtons Revival (8-5) at Leicester 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Jul.
Sgt Schultz (IRE) 33-1 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, 6th of 11, 3 1/2l behind Sahrati (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) gf in Jul.
Solo Flight 5-1 (9-0) Keen, held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, kept on, not pace to challenge, 6th of 12, 5l behind Lisathedaddy (8-6) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb.
Nelsons Column (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Chased leader, led after 2f, ridden and headed over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 4th of 11, 7l behind Spanish Hidalgo (9-3) at Ripon 1m 4f hcp 0-90 (3) hvy in Jul.
Love Always 11-4 (9-2) Held up behind leading trio, ridden over 2f out, stayed on to challenge for 2nd over 1f out, no extra near finish, 3rd of 5, 2 1/2l behind Olimpo (9-4) at Sandown 1m 6f hcap (4) gd in Jul.
Top Spec (IRE) 9-1 (9-8) Steadied start, tracked leaders, ridden to challenge over 2f out, soon lost place, last of 9, 17l behind Pentatonic (9-13) at Folkestone 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Jul.
Shore Thing (IRE) 5-1 (8-9) In touch, ridden over 3f out to chase leaders, weakened 2f out, 9th of 14, 22l behind Halla San (8-12) at Goodwood 1m 4f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in Sept.
Lemonette (USA) 9-1 (9-2) In touch, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, 7th of 12, 8l behind Kerriemuir Lass (9-5) at Windsor 1m 4f hcap (4) gd in Jun.
