settled in rear, headway to chase leaders 4f out, joined leaders on outer 3f out, led narrowly 2f out, pressed, ran on strongly inside final furlong, just held on
tracked leaders to over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
held up 4th, ridden and no impression over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, not reach leaders
led and set good pace, joined 3f out, headed narrowly 2f out, stayed pressing leaders, rallied inside final furlong, took 2nd close home, just held by winner
From just a 1lb higher mark Sunset Boulevard looks capable of repeating last year's success in this race, while Wind Flow, Alonso De Guzman and Apache Fort all have claims. The Tor Sturgis-trained selection was kept going, unsuccessfully, over the sticks in the winter, but loves this trip and surface, and on the flat remains on an attractive mark, so we'll take him to score. Wind Flow was a 1m 6f winner at Wolverhampton last time and stayed on strongly to land that prize, but a 6lb rise here will make it a fair bit tougher. However, he is consistent and the same can be said of Alonso De Guzman, who is rarely far from the frame and won over 9f at Wolverhampton in a weaker race than this when last seen out in January. Neverthless he comes from a yard going well and should not be found wanting for fitness. Apache Fort was a c&d scorer last month and can be forgiven a thrashing last time on account of a very poor draw, so don't discount him from this mark, but we will side with Sunset Boulevard to repeat the dose.
Apache Fort 15-2 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 10th of 15, 14l behind Pee Jay's Dream (8-7) at Thirsk 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Apr.
Sunset Boulevard (IRE) 11-2 (9-4) Chased leaders, ridden 3f out, kept on one pace, 3rd of 8, 5l behind Penang Cinta (8-13) at Leicester 1m 4f hcap (5) gf.
Calming Waters 11-1 (9-4) Pulled hard, tracked leader 8f out until over 2f out, soon ridden, weakened well over 1f out, 8th of 10, 6l behind Shogun Prince (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Mar.
Wind Flow 2-1fav (8-10) Tracked leaders, led over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on to lead again close home, won at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Apr beating Strong Survivor (9-1) by a shd, 6 ran.
Alonso de Guzman (IRE) 2-1fav (7-12) With leader, led over 5f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on, won at W'hampton 1m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Jan beating Pop Music (8-8) by 3/4l, 6 ran.
