very slow away, in rear, never dangerous
made all, ridden over 2f out, stayed on under pressure inside last, kept on gamely
in touch, ridden and not clear run over 3f out, and again over 2f out, no impression after
held up in rear, not clear run over 4f out, and again over 2f out, switched left and one paced final furlong
slowly into stride, chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
slow away, held up, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
slowly into stride, held up towards rear, headway 3f out, soon ridden, stayed on approaching final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 1f out
Several with chances in an open event but the vote goes to Petrula while Shayadi, Castleshane and Miss Opulence rate the main dangers. Kevin Ryan's gelding caused a shock when landing a Chester handicap over this trip in May but showed the form was no fluke when a highly creditable fourth in a competitive handicap at York over a trip that was possibly stretching his stamina. The selection was predictably outclassed in the valuable Zetland Gold Cup last time but has now dropped to a mark just 2lb compared to his victory on the Roodeye and should prove more competitive at this level. Shayadi ran one of his better races when a fair fourth at Hamilton last time but is on a long losing sequence and may prefer more cut in the ground to produce his best. Castleshane has made little impact on the level of late but this dual purpose performer, who was an impressive 10-length winner of a decent Chepstow handicap hurdle in April, has been dropped in the weights and can't be dismissed lightly. Miss Opulence has claims on her Haydock success in April but was well below her best last time and now has something to prove under top weight.
