raced wide tracked leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed final strides
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong
dwelt and short of room start, raced wide and headway halfway, ridden over 1f out, stayed on one pace
tracked leader, pushed along and every chance over 1f out, stayed on one pace
held up, pushed along 2f out, headway inside final furlong, nearest finish
raced wide in touch, in touch, headway 2f out, pressed leader inside final furlong, led final strides
always in rear
tracked leaders, pushed along 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
in rear, pushed along halfway, never nearer
tracked leaders, pushed along 3f out, lost place 2f out
stumbled leaving stalls, never on terms
tracked leaders, pushed along over 1f out, weakened final furlong
Leodis Dream rattled up a hat-trick on Turf last spring and won later at Chelmsford but starts off the new season on a high enough mark. Stuart Williams runs three but Royal Birth and Restless Rose are better on the all-weather with the former finishing behind Street Parade at Wolverhampton earlier this year. Count D'Orsay is 5lb higher than when scoring at Catterick in October and stable companion Copper Knight also faces a stiff task at the weights. MAKANAH is another to have travelled down from North Yorkshire and he was in terrific form around this time last year. He ran a cracker in the Portland on his penultimate start last year from a higher mark. Aplomb would have been more interesting over an extra furlong but Encore d’Or has dropped to his lowest mark in four years and has Ryan Moore doing the steering.
Copper Knight (IRE) 4-1 (9-7) Tracked leader, pushed along to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 5, 2 1/2l behind Tarboosh (9-5) at Musselburgh 5f stks (3) sft in Oct.
Leodis Dream (IRE) 9-2 (9-7) Led, headed 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 8, 4 1/4l behind Rocket Action (9-3) at Wolverhampton 5f hcp (2) pol in Nov.
Stone Of Destiny 33-1 (8-13) Raced stands side, held up behind, driven and outpaced 2f out, never able to challenge, ridden and weakened final furlong, 18th of 24, 7l behind Angel Alexander (8-13) at Ayr 6f hcp (2) gd in Sep.
Count D'Orsay (IRE) 5-1 (9-0) Led far side group, led overall over 1f out, driven out, won at Catterick 5f hcp (2) sft in Oct beating Four Wheel Drive (8-10) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
Aplomb (IRE) 7-1fav (9-1) Mid-division, weakened over 2f out, 21st of 22, 21 1/4l behind Gulliver (9-5) at York 6f hcp (2) sft in Oct.
Makanah 8-1 (9-6) Prominent, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 14, 6 1/2l behind Count D'Orsay (9-0) at Catterick 5f hcp (2) sft in Oct.
Street Parade 11-2 (9-4) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 6, 3 1/2l behind Concierge (8-7) at Wolverhampton 6f hcp (2) pol in Feb.
Encore d'Or 8-1 (9-10) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on towards finish, last of 5, 3/4l behind Royal Birth (9-11) at Chelmsford City 5f hcp (3) pol in Sep.
Venturous (IRE) 4-1 (9-0) Held up in 5th, good headway near side rail travelling well over 1f out, pushed along and ran on to lead final 100 yards, comfortably, won at Newcastle 5f hcp (3) pol in Jan beating Heath Charnock (8-13) by 1l, 6 ran.
Blue De Vega (GER) 20-1 (9-2) Held up in mid-division, pushed along halfway, headway over 1f out, plugged on towards finish, never going pace to reach leaders, 7th of 17, 2 1/4l behind Pendleton (8-12) at Ascot 5f hcp (3) sft in Oct.
Royal Birth 9-4 (9-7) Held up in rear, carried wide on bend 2f out, headway over 1f out, ran on, never nearer, 4th of 6, 1l behind Top Breeze (8-11) at Lingfield 5f hcp (2) pol in Feb.
Restless Rose 13-8fav (9-4) Raced keenly, held up in close 5th, switched right inside final 2f, headway over 1f out, ridden and went 2nd inside final furlong, never able to challenge, 2nd of 5, 3l behind Lord Riddiford (9-4) at Chelmsford City 5f hcp (3) pol in Mar.
