held up towards rear, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, soon eased
held up towards rear, headway over 3f out, one pace from over 1f out
held up towards rear, steady headway over 2f out, ridden and hung left over 1f out, hung left and driven out to lead towards finish
led, headed halfway, ridden to lead again 3f out, headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, headway over 6f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed towards finish
tracked leaders and pulled hard, led halfway, headed 3f out, weakened inside final furlong
always towards rear
tracked leader, weakened 3f out
held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on final furlong
Nonrunner
Rock'n'Roller, Mister Arjay and Cavendish make the shortlist for this competitive marathon, with Mister Arjay taken to return to winning form. Thewhirlingdervish is a winner over this course and distance but was soundly beaten by Rock'n'Roller last time. The top weight has won two of his last three starts, including a win here last time. He is at the top of his form and a four pound hike in his rating looks unlikely to keep him out of the shake up. Cavendish won successive contests before a disappointing run on the all-weather was followed by a great effort at Newcastle, where he was just touched off in the closing stages. His only previous run on fast ground was poor, but he is nonetheless respected as he takes a step up in grade. Some hard races in quick succession may have accounted for Mister Arjay's below par effort last time at York. Previously he had scored in good style at Beverley and run two fine races when finishing runner-up. Only two pounds higher than his Beverley success, Mister Arjay will enjoy the fast ground and gets the vote.
Rock 'n' Roller (FR) 6-1 (9-3) Held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on to lead towards finish, won at Pontefract 2m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gd beating Aphorism (9-4) by 1l, 10 ran.
Estate 2-1fav (10-0) Towards rear, headway over 4f out, driven over 2f out, kept on final furlong, 2nd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Easibet Dot Net (8-9) at W'hampton 2m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Nov.
Aphorism 7-1 (9-4) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway over 5f out, ridden over 1f out, led inside final furlong, hung badly left and headed close home, 2nd of 10, 1l behind Rock 'n' Roller (9-3) at Pontefract 2m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gd.
Mister Arjay (USA) 10-1 (9-5) Led, ridden and headed over 3f out, soon lost place, weakened final furlong, 9th of 11, 16l behind Bukit Tinggi (9-10) at York 2m hcap (4) gd in May.
Thewhirlingdervish (IRE) 4-1jt-fav (9-0) Tracked leader until halfway, challenging when not much room entering final furlong, one pace, 4th of 10, 6l behind Rock 'n' Roller (9-3) at Pontefract 2m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gd.
Keelung (USA) 20-1 (9-0) Raced far side, tracked leaders, effort over 2f out, soon weakened, last of 17, 12l behind Flamboyant Lad (8-8) at Newmarket 1m 2f 3yo hcp (C1) gd in Oct '04.
Great As Gold (IRE) 10-1 (8-12) Always towards rear, 9th of 10, 24l behind Rock 'n' Roller (9-3) at Pontefract 2m 1f hcp 0-80 (4) gd.
Stolen Light (IRE) 20-1 (8-12) Tracked leaders in rear, pushed along halfway, soon detached, last of 3, well behind Alleviate (9-10) at Ayr 1m 7f hcap (4) gf in May.
Go Amwell 3-1fav (9-0) Held up in rear, not clear run 3f out until over 2f out, stayed on from over 1f out, not reach leaders, 4th of 12, 4 1/2l behind At The Money (9-7) at Goodwood 2m hcap (5) sft in May.
Cavendish 7-1 (9-10) Held up, headway to lead over 2f out, driven and edged left over 1f out, headed 1f out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind Sendali (8-6) at Newcastle 2m hcp 0-65 (6) gs.
Skit 14-1 (8-2) Prominent, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten, 11th of 12, 46l behind Sendali (8-6) at Newcastle 2m hcp 0-65 (6) gs.
