held up in rear, pushed along and no chance final 3f
raced in 4th, ridden and unable to quicken when not much room over 2f out, kept on final furlong
held up towards rear, headway on outside over 2f out, went 2nd inside final 2f, stayed on final furlong
soon well clear, eased 7f out, drew away again 4f out, driven out final furlong, unchallenged
held up in rear, kept on final furlong, no chance
tracked clear winner until 3f out, weakened quickly
held up in 5th, went 3rd 5f out, went 2nd 3f out until over 2f out, soon driven and weakened
held up in 6th, effort 3f out, went 2nd over 2f out until inside final 2f, kept on final furlong, no chance
An interesting stayers heat here and Megaton gets the nod ahead of Simondium, Newnham and Establishment. Peter Bowen's runner Megaton has the benefit of Frankie's presence in the saddle and is on a long winning run of three hurdle races and one flat race. The latter came over 1m6f at Nottingham last month under the same pilot and he has had four weeks off so should be fresh enough to do himself continued justice over a trip he will relish. He handles a decent surface on turf so he should be fine here and he gets the vote. Simondium gives weight away all around and was out of his depth at York last time. This is more in his class, and with a first-time visor applied he could be a handful for his opponents. Newnham is a c&d winner who is not in bad form, but needs a personal best to take this contest, while Establishment is another to have scored over c&d and he is now back below his last winning mark so can't be ruled out with confidence, but Megaton is in great form and should continue to be followed.
Simondiun 12-1 (9-3) Mid-division, effort over 3f out, soon beaten, 14th of 15, 31l behind High Treason (8-8) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-105 (2) gd in May.
Salute (IRE) 11-1 (8-7) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out, 5th of 6, 8l behind Cape Secret (8-7) at Salisbury 1m 6f hcp 0-105 (2) gf in May.
Whispering Death 15-2 (8-6) Held up and behind, headway over 2f out, hung left over 1f out, never trouble leaders, 6th of 17, 8l behind Greenwich Meantime (9-2) at Chester 2m 3f hcap (2) gf in May.
Junior 5-2fav (9-1) Chased leader, driven to challenge, edged left 2f out, chased winner after, one pace, no impression, lost 2nd well inside final furlong, 3rd of 10, 2l behind Princelet (9-3) at Ascot 2m hcp 0-90 (3) gd in May.
Newnham (IRE) 10-1 (8-11) In rear when stumbled on bend 10f out, no chance after, last of 15, 46l behind Full House (9-5) at Goodwood 2m hcap (4) gd in May.
Megaton 2-1fav (9-0) Broke well, soon held up in touch, driven to challenge over 3f out, led over 2f out, ridden clear final furlong, won at Nottingham 1m 6f hcap (5) gd in Jun beating Debord (8-7) by 2l, 6 ran.
High Point (IRE) 14-1 (8-6) Mid-division, ridden along over 4f out, never reached challenging position, 5th of 9, 10l behind Thewhirlingdervish (8-5) at Pontefract 2m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Jun.
Establishment 25-1 (9-0) In touch, ridden 4f out, weakened over 3f out, 13th of 14, 11l behind Junior (8-11) at Newbury 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Apr.
Sendinpost 11-2 (9-5) Held up in rear, steady headway from 3f out, closed to track leader over 1f out, led final 100 yards, won going away, won at Kempton 2m hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Jun beating Bob's Your Uncle (9-0) by 3/4l, 13 ran.
Jack Rolfe 7-2jt-fav (9-2) Mid-division on inside, chased leaders over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Lady Songbird (8-9) at Newbury 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in May.
