held up in touch, ridden over 1f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong
keen, led, steadied halfway, quickened 3f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
tracked leader to halfway, remained close up, ridden and switched right to lead 1f out, edged left and headed towards finish
in touch, pressed leader from halfway, ridden to lead over 1f out, soon headed, kept on same pace
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
Barry Hills does well with his runners here and CHAPTER AND VERSE can provide him with another winner; the main dangers would appear to be Norwegian Dancer and Hallstatt. The selection showed progressive form last season and he was entitled to need the run on his return from a break of 165 days last month. The fact that he won that day showed he had trained-on and as he should strip fitter here he can take advantange of a good draw and score again. Norwegian Dancer has two key factors in his favour as he has the plum draw and he also boasts course and distance winning form. The form of his win last time has been franked and although he looks to have more on his plate today, he has to be respected. Hallstatt has been a beaten favourite on each of his last two starts so he could be one to have reservations about. The Marco Botti-trained Splinter Cell could be of more interest as he put in a decent effort at Pontefract last time in a race that has worked out well. However, we prefer the claims of Chapter And Verse who should be hard to beat.
Norwegian Dancer (UAE) 7-2 (9-1) Tracked leaders, pushed along over 2f out, led inside final furlong, driven out, won at Chester 1m 2f mdn stks (4) gf in Jun beating Spirit Of Dubai (8-10) by 1 3/4l, 5 ran.
Chapter And Verse (IRE) 4-7fav (9-3) Tracked leader, pushed along over 2f out, driven over 1f out, led final furlong, stayed on under pressure, won at Pontefract 1m 2f 3yo mdn aut (4) gf in Apr beating Mt Kintyre (9-3) by nk, 8 ran.
Hallstatt (IRE) 9-4fav (8-10) Tracked leaders, led over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, headed narrowly well inside final furlong, held near finish, 3rd of 5, 1/2l behind Classic Legend (9-13) at Haydock 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gd.
Digger Derek (IRE) 20-1 (8-9) Held up, weakened over 2f out, last of 9, 22l behind Braveheart Move (9-1) at Chester 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-95 (3) gf in May.
Splinter Cell (USA) 4-1 (9-6) Held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 7, 5l behind Thin Red Line (9-2) at Pontefract 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Jun.
Tapis Wizard 15-2 (8-2) Always behind, never troubled leaders, last of 9, 14l behind Antigua Sunrise (8-12) at Ripon 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Jun.
