held up in rear, steady headway over 2f out, ridden to lead final furlong, driven out towards finish
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up towards rear, reminder over 5f out, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, headed entering final furlong, kept on
tracked leaders, pushed along and headway over 3f out, soon ridden and effort, weakened over 1f out
mid-division, headway over 3f out, led over 2f out, headed over 1f out, no extra final furlong
in touch, pushed along and not much room over 2f out, soon ridden and effort, kept on same pace final furlong
mid-division, pushed along 4f out, ridden and no impression 2f out
in touch, pushed along and lost place over 3f out, soon behind
towards rear, never dangerous
slowly into stride, held up towards rear, pushed along over 4f out, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened
slowly into stride, held up in rear, pushed along over 4f out, headway over 2f out, effort over 1f out, one pace final furlong
A strong renewal of the oldest Classic in the race calendar and Brian Boru is given a slender vote to out-stay his rivals with Phoenix Reach and Maharib respected as live dangers - although Moments Of Joy should not be dismissed too quickly in her bid to strike a blow for the fillies. Of the rest, Westmoreland Road was impressive in his first two starts this season and should have no problems with regard to the ground, but like Let Me Try Again and High Accolade, his recent starts have been a little below the standard expected of a Ledger winner and Amanda Perrett's charge will have to work out of his skin to provide Pat Eddery with a fairytale ending in his final crack at this famous race. In contrast, Brian Boru, who put in his best performance as a two-year-old in winning the Racing Post Trophy here last October, has shown marked improvement since his below par effort at Epsom in June, and looked the ideal sort for this when finishing with a flourish at York last month. The fitting of a tongue-tie in his last two starts has contributed to his overall improvement, but the recent ease in the ground could well be the key to his chance. His rounded action suggests that he will relish the predicted conditions and the son of Sadler's Wells can provide Aidan O'Brien with yet another big-race winner if he runs up to his best. Phoenix Reach has done very little wrong and will be hard to keep out of the frame. But he was at the end of his tether at Goodwood and and may just find one too good over this trip. Salsalino and Maharib have to be respected as they have already proven their stamina, but it is hard to pick holes in Brian Boru's York run and it may be as simple to say that 'if he stays he wins' this year's running of the St Leger.
