in rear, mistake 10th and soon struggling, pulled up before 2 out
held up in touch, not fluent 3rd, pushed along and outpaced 4 out, headway under pressure behind leaders last, stayed on strongly flat, just held close home
chased leader, pulled hard early, led 6th, ridden 3 out, hard pressed 2 out, stayed on well from last, held on close home
prominent, ridden upsides 2 out, outpaced last when not fluent, no extra flat
led, headed 6th, ridden upsides 2 out, every chance last, kept on same pace flat, lost 2nd close home
Happy D'ex is another solid chance for the Elliott team as the mare has placed on four of five chase starts and still has time on her side to become more effective over larger obstacles. She should go well but HIDDEN COMMANDER makes more appeal in receipt of 11lb from the topweight. His recent record is far from consistent but he scored over both trip and ground at Newcastle in November, so now has his conditions. His recent close second to The Ferry Master was also a welcome bounce back to form. Cedar Hill also found some form on his latest start but is probably more effective over two miles and Golden Taipan seems to have lost his way on recent starts. Sword Of Fate enjoyed a consistently good spring until disappointing last time and cannot be discounted if back to his previous level.
Happy D'ex (FR) 7-1 (11-7) Led briefly, tracked leaders after 1st, 4th halfway, slight mistake 5 out, ridden entering straight, no extra after 3 out, 6th of 10, 28 1/4l behind Hauturiere (11-7) at Killarney 2m 4f Good - Yielding in May.
Golden Taipan (IRE) 33-1 (11-11) Not always fluent in rear, hit 8th, behind from 11th, 6th of 7, dist behind Betty Baloo (11-1) at Market Rasen 3m hcp (3) gs in May.
Cedar Hill (IRE) 6-1 (10-9) Held up in rear, went 3rd 4 out, chased leader after 2 out, ridden and every chance run-in, kept on but held towards finish, 2nd of 5, 1/2l behind Bollingerandkrug (10-3) at Kelso 2m 1f hcp (3) gs in May.
Hidden Commander (IRE) 4-1 (12-0) Led, faced challenges 3 out, soon headed narrowly, pushed along and switched right after 2 out, kept on, ridden and hung right run-in, no extra, 2nd of 4, 1/2l behind The Ferry Master (11-10) at Kelso 2m 6f hcp (4) gf in May.
Sword Of Fate (IRE) 4-1 (12-1) Prominent, shaken up after last, soon beaten, weakened before final bend, 8th of 10, 30 1/2l behind Line Of Descent (11-6) at Cartmel 2m 1f hcp (5) gd in May.
