chased leaders, 3rd halfway, improved to challenge 2f out, ridden in 2nd over 1f out, no extra in 3rd inside final furlong, kept on same pace
chased leaders, 4th halfway, improved to lead 2f out, ridden over 1f out, strongly pressed inside final furlong, headed close home
chased leader in 2nd, ridden 2f out, no extra in 4th 1 1/2f out, kept on one pace
led, ridden and headed 2f out, soon no extra
held up, 5th halfway, ridden and no impression 1 1/2f out, kept on one pace
held up in last, ridden into 3rd 1 1/2f out, stayed on to press leader inside final furlong, led close home
Arctic and After were behind Inxile in a Listed contest over 5f at Tipperary on Friday and that form would be nowhere near good enough for this. STARSPANGLEDBANNER arrived from Australia in 2010 and became the top sprinter of that year, winning the Golden Jubilee and July Cup. He hasn't been seen since disappointing at Haydock in September of that year but presumably is fit enough to do himself justice and this is a big drop in class. Fire Lily beat After in the Group 3 Ballyogan at Leopardstown but didn't handle heavy conditions in the July Cup while Definightly ran poorly in a Group 3 at Newbury after scoring over 5f here. Invincible Ash is very useful at this level but prefers quicker ground and hasn't run since Singapore in May.
Definightly 9-1 (9-8) Led, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon lost place, 7th of 9, 11l behind Soul (9-4) at Newbury 6f Grp 3 (1) hvy in Jul.
Gordon Lord Byron (IRE) 2-1fav (9-7) Broke well and settled back to track leaders, 3rd halfway, driven along from 2f out and soon dropped to 5th, kept on same pace under pressure inside final furlong, 4th of 8, 1 3/4l behind Slade Power (9-4) at Fairyhouse 6f Listed stks (1) sft in Jul.
Norville (IRE) 6-1 (8-8) Led, ridden 2f out, headed and no extra inside final furlong, 6th of 8, 1 3/4l behind Palace Moon (9-7) at Lingfield 6f hcp 0-100 (2) pol in Feb.
Starspangledbanner (AUS) 11-8fav (9-3) Led far side group, ridden and headed over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 5th of 13, 4l behind Markab (9-3) at Haydock 6f Grp 1 (1) gf in Sep '10.
Invincible Ash (IRE) (8-10) 7th of 9, 13l behind Ato (8-13) at Kranji(SNG) 6f Grp 1 in May.
Fire Lily (IRE) 11-2 (8-10) Raced centre, held up in touch, switched right 2f out, ridden and beaten when hung left inside final furlong, 7th of 12, 13l behind Mayson (9-5) at Newmarket 6f Grp 1 (1) hvy in Jul.
Arctic (IRE) 3-1 (9-7) Tracked leader in 2nd, headway to challenge 2f out and ridden to lead over 1f out, kept on under pressure inside final furlong, headed and no extra final 50 yards, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Slade Power (9-4) at Fairyhouse 6f Listed stks (1) sft in Jul.
The Reaper (IRE) 16-1 (9-9) Prominent, 2nd halfway, ridden and briefly challenged over 1f out, 4th early final furlong, kept on under pressure, 3rd of 11, 3/4l behind Tiddliwinks (10-0) at Curragh 6f Grp 3 (1) gd in May.
After (IRE) 6-1 (8-11) Settled towards rear, 7th halfway, switched left over 1f out and kept on inside final furlong, not reach leaders, 4th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Lady Wingshot (8-11) at Galway 7f fll lst stks (1) sft.
