slowly into stride, held up in rear, good headway on outer over 5f out, soon tracking leaders and going well, ridden over 1f out, led inside final furlong, soon hung badly left, kept on and headed towards finish
held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on to lead towards finish
tracked leader until before halfway, challenged when not much room entering final furlong, one pace
led, ridden over 4f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on same pace
fly-leapt start, held up in rear and keen, smooth headway on outer over 5f out, went 2nd over 2f out, soon ridden, weakened over 1f out
always towards rear
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, no impression from over 1f out
held up towards rear, weakened 2f out
towards rear, outpaced over 2f out, kept on, no impression from over 1f out
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
Great As Gold knows his way round here, but his recent form is poor and the Pontefract Cup may be his target later in June, so preference is for At The Money ahead of Rock 'N' Roller. The selection comes here on the back of a success at Goodwood on rain-softened ground. Assuming that the ground stays on the soggy side, and it usually does at Pontefract, this stout stayer gets the nod to lead from pillar to post. If pestered early on into going too quick then it may pay to side with Rock 'N' Roller who is a hold-up performer who will appreciate a fair pace. He didn't appreciate the drop in trip last time at Newbury but a better show can be expected today. Thewhirlingdervish hasn't been flying of late but is well-handicapped on old form and a market move would indicate a better showing, whilst Lady Dedlock has a pull in the weights with the selection having finished second at Goodwood and must be considered a major player. If the sun shines for a spell then Brave Bugsy has claims, as does Colwyn Bay who ranked up a sequence of wins at this time last year but as a result is possibly high enough in the weights now. A typically tough Yorkshire puzzle, with At The Money fancied to go in again.
Aphorism 5-1 (9-3) Slowly away, ridden over 2f out, always behind, eased when beaten, 11th of 12, 45l behind Flame Creek (7-13) at Newbury 2m hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Apr.
Rock 'n' Roller (FR) 6-1 (9-8) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, no impression from over 1f out, 7th of 13, 4 1/2l behind Cleaver (9-9) at Newbury 1m 5f hcap (5) sft in May.
Thewhirlingdervish (IRE) 14-1 (9-5) Held up, outpaced 4f out, never on terms, 7th of 11, 13l behind Bukit Tinggi (9-10) at York 2m hcap (4) gd in May.
At The Money 15-2 (9-7) Made all, driven along and stayed on well final 2f, won at Goodwood 2m hcap (5) sft in May beating Lady Dedlock (9-8) by 1 1/2l, 12 ran.
Tribe 25-1 (8-9) Led to over 2f out, weakened quickly, tailed off, last of 9, 32l behind Silver Suitor (9-9) at Ascot 2m hcp 0-90 (3) gf in May.
Great As Gold (IRE) 25-1 (9-6) Towards rear, ridden 3f out, never dangerous, 10th of 13, 26l behind Mighty Moon (9-3) at York 2m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in May.
Mt Desert 40-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, ridden 4f out, soon weakened, 8th of 9, 30l behind Bukit Tinggi (9-5) at Haydock 1m 6f hcap (4) gf in May.
Merrymaker 8-1 (9-1) Held up mid-division, ridden and weakened 3f out, 8th of 13, 14l behind Directa's Digger (8-6) at Haydock 1m 6f hcap (5) gd in May.
Colwyn Bay (IRE) 11-8fav (9-13) Mid-division, driven and beaten 3f out, heavily eased final furlong, 10th of 13, 25l behind Bold Adventure (7-12) at Kempton 2m hcap (6) pol in Sept.
Brave Bugsy (IRE) 11-1 (10-13) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, led well over 1f out, ridden out, won at Bath 2m 1f amt hcp (6) gf in May beating Directa's Digger (10-10) by a nk, 15 ran.
Legend Erry (IRE) 8-1 (9-7) Tracked leaders, ridden 3f, led soon after, headed 2f out, faded inside final furlong, 5th of 12, 7l behind Flame Creek (7-13) at Newbury 2m hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Apr.
Lady Dedlock 9-1 (9-8) Soon close up, ridden 2f out, chased winner under pressure over 1f out, no real impression inside final furlong, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind At The Money (9-7) at Goodwood 2m hcap (5) sft in May.
