tracked leaders, a little keen, close up from 5f out, on terms 4f out, led over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, one pace
held up, closed up 4f out to track leaders, ridden to challenge over 1f out, led inside final furlong, stayed on well
held up, headway on outer to chase leaders 2f out, soon no impression, kept on
tracked leaders, pushed along on outer from 5f out, dropped to last 2f out, no extra
held up on inner, closer order well before halfway, pushed along 3f out, kept on well without troubling winner inside final furlong
led, joined inside first 4f, soon headed, on terms again from 6f out, headed over 1f out, weakened
a little keen, close up, on terms inside first 4f, soon led, joined from 6f out, headed over 3f out, no impression 2f out, no extra
This looks a cracking finale as all eight runners have won at least once. CAPTAIN BARBOSSA has a double penalty to carry but showed improved form from his scrambled opening victory to beat the odds-on Listen Dear over an extra three furlongs at Cork. That should be good enough though the runner-up is trained by Willie Mullins so he should know how he stands with Aidan O'Brien's charge and he has Fugi Mountain entered here. He looked a smart prospect when scoring at Sligo but will be conceding weight to the selection taking Sarah O'Brien's claim into account. Supreme Vinnie ran into a couple of very useful bumpers at Bellewstown but could be doing so again so the biggest threat could be from the mare Fu's Island, who followed her victory at Limerick with an excellent second to the very useful Tesseract at Tipperary.
Captain Barbossa (IRE) 13-8fav (12-0) Chased leader in 2nd, close up from 5f out, ridden and disputed 3f out, led 2f out, kept on well final furlong, won at Cork 2m 3f gd in Jul beating Listen Dear (11-7) by 2 1/4l, 5 ran.
Fugi Mountain (IRE) 8-13fav (12-0) Soon raced in 5th, headway 3f out, 2nd 2f out, led from early straight, pushed along over 1f out, stayed on well final furlong, won at Sligo 2m 2f gd in Jul beating Bertie Bell (12-0) by 3 1/4l, 9 ran.
Hunters Call (IRE) 6-1 (12-0) Soon chased leaders, 6th approaching halfway, 3rd approaching straight, switched left over 2f out, soon challenged, led over 1f out and edged right briefly, stayed on well inside final furlong, won at Gowran Park 2m 4f gd in Jun beating Touch A Million (12-0) by 2 1/2l, 13 ran.
Supreme Vinnie (IRE) 5-1 (12-0) Soon mid-division in 6th, closer order 5f out, pushed along in 5th 3f out, raced on outer from 2f out and chased leaders, soon no impression, one pace, 3rd of 9, 8l behind Tesseract (11-8) at Bellewstown 2m 1f gf in Jul.
Thumb Stone Blues (IRE) 11-2 (12-0) Mid-division, improved to track leaders in 4th 4f out, ridden to lead under 2f out, hung left inside final furlong, kept on well to maintain advantage closing stages, won at Kilbeggan 2m Good - Yielding in May beating Loughmore Queen (11-7) by 2l, 11 ran.
Fu's Island (IRE) 4-1fav (11-7) Tracked leaders in last towards outer, closed up over 4f out towards inner, ridden approaching straight, on terms 1f out, kept on without matching winner inside final furlong,, 2nd of 3, 1 1/4l behind Tesseract (11-11) at Tipperary 2m gd in Jul.
Little Mitch (IRE) 8-1 (11-9) Led, 3 lengths clear halfway, reduced advantage under 3f out, under pressure and headed under 2f out, soon ridden, carried out 1f out, at Killarney 2m 1f gd in Jul.
Poetic Lady (IRE) 8-1 (11-3) Soon mid-division, 9th before halfway, improved to get on terms over 2f out, stayed on best inside final furlong, won at Roscommon 2m gd in Jul beating Petuna (11-9) by 2l, 16 ran.
