chased leaders, ridden 4f out, weakened final furlong
led, headed 4f out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, ridden 3f out, weakened from well over 1f out
held up in rear, headway over 3f out, stayed on to chase winner over 1f out, until weakened towards finish
held up, ridden and outpaced over 3f out, stayed on final furlong
chased leader early, ridden to lead well over 2f out, clear final furlong
held up on outer, soon chasing leaders, led 4f out, headed well over 2f out, kept on to take 2nd towards finish
chased leaders, no extra final furlong
held up, ridden over 3f out, never dangerous
A chance is taken that CAERLAVEROCK can get the better of Gilded Age with Carnival Fair, perhaps, best of the remainder. Alan Swinbank has made hay in bumpers with Flat-breds over the years before switching their attention to the level and Caerlaverock won well enough at Wetherby to think that he can make his mark under this code. He ran on well, despite showing signs of greenness, to win readily on his racecourse bow under National Hunt Rules and this half-brother to Ouninpohja should have enough about him to make his presence felt here. Gilded Age made his debut over ten before being dropped back to nine furlongs at Ripon where he came close to opening his account. He's far from certain, on breeding at any rate, to be suited by this longer trip but sets the standard and has to be feared. Carnival Fair represents a yard in top form but has yet to threaten the principals in any of her races; a step forward is, therefore, required but she's lightly raced and this contest lacks strength in depth and it's that lack of depth that leads us to take a chance with Caerlaverock.
Caerlaverock (IRE) 4-1 (10-10) Held up, chased leaders over 5f out, led over 1f out, kept on well, won at Wetherby 2m NH flat (6) gd in Mar beating Beside The Fire (10-10) by 2 3/4l, 13 ran.
Weetfromthechaff 10-1 (9-13) Mid-division, ridden to challenge over 1f out, pressed leader inside final furlong and every chance, no extra home, lost 3rd final strides, 4th of 13, 3/4l behind Just Timmy Marcus (8-12) at Wolverhampton 6f mdn stks (5) pol in Feb.
Carnival Fair 33-1 (9-8) Held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, no impression from over 1f out, 5th of 9, 16l behind Saga De Tercey (9-13) at Musselburgh 1m 4f mdn stks (5) gf.
Black River Falls (USA) Fusaichi Pegasus gelding out of La Lorgnette.
Deauville Flyer 25-1 (9-3) Towards rear, effort over 2f out, never dangerous, 9th of 14, 15l behind Mister Dee Bee (9-3) at Ripon 1m 3yo mdn (5) gf.
Gilded Age 15-2 (8-11) Slowly into stride, soon tracking leaders, outpaced over 4f out, went 2nd over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, just held, 2nd of 8, hd behind Warpedsenseofhumor (8-11) at Redcar 1m 1f mdn stks (5) fm.
Gosforth Park 16-1 (9-3) In touch, effort over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 7, 10l behind Chilly Filly (8-12) at Doncaster 1m 4f 3yo mdn (4) gf.
Napoletano (ITY) 22-1 (8-10) Very slowly away, always outpaced, last of 8, 30l behind Elisiario (9-12) at Southwell 7f mdn auc stks (5) fbs in Mar.
Saffron's Son (IRE) 16-1 (7-13) In touch, ridden 2f out, soon weakened, 8th of 9, 12l behind Dispol Diva (8-13) at Beverley 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) gf.