in rear, headway when jinked left over 2f out, led over 1f out, ridden and headed inside final furlong
in rear, headway 3f out, ridden and stayed on final furlong
switched left soon after start, in rear, badly hampered by faller over 2f out, not a danger after
in rear, headway over 2f out, chased leader over 1f out, led inside final furlong, readily
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon one paced
keen tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, eased over 1f out
pulled hard intouch, held when hampered over 2f out, soon eased
tracked leader until over 2f out, soon weakened
raced wide, mid-division, ridden when short of room and clipped heels and fell over 2f out
tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, hampered over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, weakened over 2f out
held up, hampered and switched left over 2f out, never dangerous
in touch, chased leader over 2f out until ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
CHAIN OF OFFICE and Syrian are better than this grade when on song and we'll take the former to dominate; Calypso Star looks best of the rest. Ryan Moore's mount won tidily at Folkestone on her second start last term, after which she was allotted a mark of 73 ahead of her handicap debut. The filly was sent off 15/8 to defy it at Yarmouth but raced freely and failed to see how the trip but our hope is she has learned a little since then; the horse has 7lbs and upwards in hand on the figures, remains capable of better, and should score if fit following an absence. It's fair to say Michael Bell expected Syrian to do better than he has following a maiden success at Yarmouth. He then ran well enough in listed company and was rated 97 accordingly, but since returning as a three-year-old has looked miles below that rating and probably isn't up to his current mark of 84; the horse is also less than straightforward and giving weight away all-round can be taken on. Calypso Star drops back to the trip that he gained his sole success over but that was at Kempton and turf efforts have been poor. As with Syrian he doesn't look up to his official mark but the yard are in form and the drop in class should spark a better performance. The aforementioned three look to hold a class advantage over their rivals and are expected to dominate; Marafong has only once gone close and that was over six, On The Cusp is unexposed and takes a steep drop in class but looks in need of it following a poor run at Haydock, although his previous Newcastle effort wasn't bad, whilst Miami Gator heads a host of horses with leagues to find at the weights and can be opposed despite arriving in fair form. Chain Of Office is taken to get back on the winning trail.
Syrian 15-2 (9-6) Steadied start, switched right start, held up last, no impression on leaders when hung right from over 1f out, 6th of 9, 9l behind Rakaan (9-9) at Sandown 7f 3yo hcp 0-90 (3) gd.
On The Cusp (IRE) 5-1 (8-6) Tracked leading trio, tracked winner inside final 3f, soon ridden, lost 2nd well over 1f out, steadily weakened, 4th of 6, 15l behind Secretive (8-13) at Haydock 1m 3yo hcp 0-80 (4) gf in May.
Embarkation 100-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride, always struggling in rear, 13th of 14, 26l behind Eton Forever (9-3) at Kempton 1m 3yo mdn stks (4) pol in May.
Calypso Star (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Prominent, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 12, 13l behind Onyx Of Arabia (8-13) at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gd.
Miami Gator (IRE) 9-1 (9-3) Led early, led over 6f out, headed inside final furlong, unable to quicken, 2nd of 9, 2l behind Tamtara (9-4) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) pol.
Brave Decision 9-4fav (8-12) Raced keenly, led hung badly right on home turn to end up on stands side rail, headed over 2f out, ridden and hung left final furlong, stayed on to 2nd final 75 yards, no impression on winner, 2nd of 9, 5l behind Fasette (8-4) at Yarmouth 1m 1f 3yo app sll (6) gd.
Chain Of Office 15-8fav (9-5) Pulled hard, soon prominent, travelling well over 2f out, ridden 2f out, soon no response, weakened soon after and eased final furlong, 11th of 12, 16l behind Number One Guy (9-0) at Yarmouth 1m 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Oct.
Highland Bridge 20-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, ridden halfway, weakened over 2f out, 12th of 15, 19l behind Rockabilly Rebel (8-13) at Newmarket 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd in May.
Louisiana Gift (IRE) 7-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, hard ridden well over 2f out, hung right under pressure approaching final furlong, ran on close home, never reached winner, 2nd of 8, 1l behind Princess Lexi (8-9) at Brighton 1m 3yo hcp 0-60 (6) gf.
Marafong 50-1 (8-7) Always behind, pushed along and struggling 4f out, soon lost touch, tailed off and eased final 2f, last of 12, 45l behind Crunched (9-0) at Doncaster 1m 2f 3yo stk 0-70 (5) gd.
Bell's Ocean (USA) 100-1 (7-9) Held up in rear, clipped heels and stumbled 5f out, effort on wide outside under pressure over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 5th of 8, 4l behind Dance East (9-6) at Windsor 1m 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gf.
Inpursuitoffreedom 12-1 (8-6) Mid-division, effort over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 11, 7l behind Yabtree (9-1) at Newmarket 1m 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Sternian 20-1 (9-0) In rear, switched right over 2f out, ridden and some headway over 1f out, never on terms, 5th of 11, 9l behind Volatilis (9-0) at Yarmouth 1m 3yo stk 0-65 (6) gd.
