soon pushed along in rear, never a factor
tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, kept on one pace
soon pushed along in rear, ridden 2f out, stayed on to go 3rd inside final furlong, never going pace of leaders
made all, ridden and hung right from over 1f out, pressed near finish, all out and held on
close up, ridden to chase winner over 1f out until entering final furlong, no extra and lost 2 places
mid-division, pushed along halfway, ridden and headway over 1f out, chased winner entering final furlong, gaining near finish, just failed
tracked winner until over 1f out, ridden and weakened final furlong
slowly into stride, outpaced
Equiano would be hard to beat on his best form of a couple of years ago but he has questions to answer these days so DONCASTER ROVER and Mullionmileanhour may be the two to concentrate on in a field where the majority are tightly matched. Equiano ran out an impressive winner at Royal Ascot in 2008 but has failed to win since and ran progressively badly since chasing home Tax Free in last year's renewal; the stable have made a slow start to the season so he's probably best watched. Golden Stream has only raced once over this trip and that was on her final start of last term where she finished well down the field but not too much should be read into that as she enjoyed little luck in running; she certainly has enough speed to make this experiment worth another attempt. Mullionmileanhour missed 2009 following his Windsor Castle second but he didn't appear to have lost any of his dash at Lingfield and is arguably the most interesting contender in this line-up. However, marginal preference is for Doncaster Rover who floundered in the mud when last in action but will be more at home on this faster surface and showed a consistently high level of form in similar contests last season when granted his ground.
Able Master (IRE) 9-2fav (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 5th of 12, 2 1/4l behind Fullandby (9-3) at Doncaster 6f Listed stks (1) sft in Nov.
Barney McGrew (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) In touch, outpaced halfway, ridden and headway approaching 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, 5th of 13, 4 1/2l behind Inxile (9-5) at Doncaster 6f Listed stks (1) sft in Mar.
Doncaster Rover (USA) 5-1 (9-1) Chased leaders, 3rd halfway, ridden in 4th 2f out, soon no extra, 7th of 9, 6l behind Girouette (9-1) at Curragh 6f Grp 3 in Aug.
Equiano (FR) 33-1 (9-10) 11th of 16, 6l behind Total Gallery (9-10) at Longchamp(FR) 5f Grp 1 gd in Oct.
Evens And Odds (IRE) 11-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 13, 6l behind Inxile (9-5) at Doncaster 6f Listed stks (1) sft in Mar.
Mullionmileanhour (IRE) 6-1 (9-0) Took keen hold early, held up in rear, plenty to do 2f out, ridden and ran on final furlong to go 3rd near finish, promising, 3rd of 8, 4l behind Jaconet (8-12) at Lingfield 6f Listed Stakes (4yo+) (1) pol in Feb.
Golden Stream (IRE) 12-1 (8-11) Held up towards rear, headway, not clear run over 1f out, no danger after, 12th of 20, 7l behind Royal Rock (9-1) at Ascot 6f Grp 3 (1) gs in Oct.
Retaliate 66-1 (8-3) Badly hampered start, soon outpaced, 8th of 9, 16l behind Mr Funshine (8-11) at Southwell 5f hcp (0-55) (6) fbs in Mar.
