Paul Hanagan surprised a few by choosing Eshtibaak ahead of his more strongly-fancied stablemate Lahaag. The latter looked the more progressive last year, though he was still beaten a head by today's opponent Chapter Seven at York in October. Brae Hill is back on the same mark as when winning this last year but has yet to win in soft ground, unlike his stablemates Majestic Myles and Justonefortheroad, the latter beating Shamaal Nibras a short-head at Leicester in October. Captain Bertie could only manage fourth in the Spring Mile at last year's meeting and is 9lb higher than when scoring at Newbury in April while Gladys' Gal was a progressive three-year-old but hasn't raced since 2011. Strictly Silver has yet to race on soft going but won a trial for this at Wolverhampton beating Guest Of Honour, trained by Marco Botti. The Newmarket handler should have a good line on the form as he's represented by the progressive SOLAR DEITY here. The winner of four of his five starts on Polytrack during the winter, he looks good value to at least make the frame and gets the vote. Dance And Dance and Arsaadi are both dropping back down into handicap company and have a touch of class on their day.
Majestic Myles (IRE) 14-1 (9-4) Held up towards rear and pulled hard, weakened over 2f out, 6th of 8, 10l behind Libranno (9-4) at Doncaster 7f Grp 2 (1) gd in Sep.
Dance And Dance (IRE) 12-1 (9-0) Towards rear, ridden and some headway 2f out, never near leaders, 7th of 11, 13l behind French Navy (9-0) at Newmarket 1m Listed stks 3yo (1) sft in Nov.
Arsaadi (IRE) 7-1 (8-8) Reared start and very slowly away, in rear, never a factor, 7th of 9, 11l behind Planteur (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 2f Listed stks (1) pol in Feb.
Prince Of Johanne (IRE) 25-1 (9-10) Mid-division stand side, headway over 2f out, ridden to lead stand side group approaching 1f out, kept on and no chance with far side leaders, 6th of 20, 4 1/2l behind Tartiflette (8-5) at Doncaster 7f hcp 105 (2) gd in Nov.
Belgian Bill 14-1 (9-0) 11th of 16, 8l behind Capital Attraction (9-0) at Meydan(UAE) 1m 3yo hcp 0-105 in Jan.
Monsieur Chevalier (IRE) 22-1 (9-3) Towards rear, effort on outer 2f out, ridden and stayed on final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 10, 3l behind Solar Deity (9-3) at Wolverhampton 7f Listed stks (1) pol.
Chapter Seven 5-1 (9-0) Awkwardly away, soon mid-division, pushed along 3f out, headway under pressure on inside over 1f out, ridden and stayed on inside final furlong, never reached leaders, 6th of 11, 2 3/4l behind True To Form (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2f Listed stks (1) pol in Dec.
Shamaal Nibras (USA) 8-1 (9-4) Towards rear stand side, stayed on final furlong, 7th of 20, 5l behind Tartiflette (8-5) at Doncaster 7f hcp 105 (2) gd in Nov.
Memory Cloth 40-1 (9-10) Raced wide, tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out, last of 12, 21l behind Strictly Silver (8-12) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-105 (2) pol.
Strictly Silver (IRE) 4-1 (8-12) In touch, switched right 2f out, headway soon after, every chance when ridden and hung left 1f out, soon straightend, led towards finish, ran on, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-105 (2) pol beating Guest of Honour (9-4) by 1/2l, 12 ran.
Solar Deity (IRE) 7-4fav (9-3) Close up, headway over 1f out, ridden and stayed on to lead post, won at Wolverhampton 7f Listed stks (1) pol beating Kenny Powers (9-3) by shd, 10 ran.
Hit The Jackpot (IRE) 20-1 (9-3) Held up in 4th and took keen hold, 5th from halfway, ridden and no impression entering straight, no extra, last of 5, 16l behind Light Heavy (9-3) at Leopardstown 1m 2f 3yo Grp 2 (1) in May.
Brae Hill (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 13th of 14, 17l behind Regal Parade (9-3) at York 6f hcp 105 (2) sft in Oct.
Lahaag 11-8fav (9-1) Tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, led and edged left from over 1f out, headed entering final furlong, ran on, just held, 2nd of 7, hd behind Chapter Seven (9-3) at York 1m 1f 3yo hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct.
Global Village (IRE) 33-1 (9-7) In rear, ridden 2f out, kept on final furlong, never nearer, 6th of 12, 5l behind Strictly Silver (8-12) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-105 (2) pol.
Justonefortheroad 10-1 (9-3) Held up, pushed along over 2f out, headway on rail over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, led post, won at Leicester 1m hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct beating Shamaal Nibras (9-4) by shd, 7 ran.
Captain Bertie (IRE) 12-1 (8-12) Raced far side, chased leaders effort when groups merged over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 14, 6l behind Skilful (9-8) at Ascot 7f hcp (2) sft in Oct.
Eshtibaak (IRE) 9-2 (9-13) Close up, not clear run over 2f out, headway when not clear run 1f out, not recover, 9th of 13, 4 1/2l behind Ahzeemah (8-9) at Ascot 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Jul.
Swiftly Done (IRE) 16-1 (8-12) Slowly into stride, switched right to race far side, held up in rear, limited progress inside final furlong, never a factor, 18th of 33, 13l behind Bronze Angel (8-8) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcp (2) gd in Sep.
Muffin Mcleay (IRE) 16-1 (9-4) Held up towards rear, pushed along and struggling over 3f out, eased, never a factor, last of 12, 37l behind Benzanno (8-4) at Haydock 1m hcp 0-95 (3) hvy in Oct.
Capaill Liath (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) Towards rear, never a factor, 9th of 11, 7l behind Tarooq (9-6) at Wolverhampton 6f hcap (2) pol.
Gladys' Gal 5-2fav (9-5) Tracked leader, led over 2f out, soon grabbed stands side rail, ran on, pushed out, won at Doncaster 7f flls hcp 0-130 (3) gd in Jul '11 beating No Poppy (9-0) by 1 1/4l, 7 ran.
