| Course: NEWCASTLE | Race date:27/06/08 | Race time:8:55 | Runners:16 |
| Race distance:6f | Going:Soft | Winners time:1m 15.70s |
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Stall | Weight | Age | RPR | OR | Odds | B High | B Ave | B Low | In run | Finished | Dist Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ursus | Silvestre De Sousa | C R Wilson | 2 | 8-2 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 40/1 | 13.5 | 11.33 | 1.83 | 1.01 | 1 | |
| Ancient Cross | Graham Gibbons | M W Easterby | 12 | 9-7 | 4 | 0 | 66 | 5/1F | 2.86 | 2.17 | 1.97 | 1.01 | 2 | nk |
| The Bear | P J McDonald | R Johnson | 6 | 9-6 | 5 | 0 | 68 | 6/1 | 2.78 | 2.59 | 2.06 | 1.01 | 3 | shd |
| Steel Blue | Dean McKeown | R M Whitaker | 11 | 9-2 | 8 | 0 | 61 | 11/1 | 3.85 | 3.53 | 2.38 | 1.01 | 4 | 1 |
| Balakiref | N Callan | M Dods | 15 | 9-12 | 9 | 0 | 71 | 9/1 | 4.1 | 3.51 | 2.9 | 2 | 5 | 1½ |
| Rabbit Fighter | Patrick Mathers | D Shaw | 3 | 9-12 | 4 | 0 | 71 | 11/1 | 5 | 3.66 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 6 | nk |
| Bid For Gold | Paul Hanagan | Jedd O´Keeffe | 8 | 9-6 | 4 | 0 | 65 | 13/2 | 2.96 | 2.41 | 2.2 | 2.32 | 7 | hd |
| Rainbow Fox | Frederik Tylicki | R A Fahey | 7 | 9-1 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 9/1 | 3.25 | 2.76 | 1.44 | 2.02 | 8 | nk |
| Forzarzi | Gary Bartley | H A McWilliams | 4 | 8-7 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 25/1 | 8.6 | 6.49 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 9 | 1 |
| Staked A Claim | Darryll Holland | T D Barron | 16 | 8-12 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 14/1 | 5 | 4.22 | 3.55 | 2.5 | 10 | 1 |
| Darcy's Pride | Tony Hamilton | D W Barker | 13 | 9-5 | 4 | 0 | 64 | 22/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 11 | 4½ |
| Jun Fan | Joe Fanning | B Ellison | 5 | 8-9 | 6 | 0 | 54 | 8/1 | 3.55 | 2.54 | 1.81 | 2.2 | 12 | ¾ |
| Lake Chini | Dale Gibson | M W Easterby | 9 | 9-9 | 6 | 0 | 68 | 33/1 | 10 | 7.64 | 6.8 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
| Rue Soleil | Paul Fessey | J R Weymes | 14 | 8-9 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 40/1 | 19.5 | 13.25 | 7.8 | 16 | 14 | 6 |
| Paris Bell | David Allan | T D Easterby | 1 | 10-0 | 6 | 0 | 73 | 14/1 | 4.6 | 4.17 | 2.96 | 4.5 | 15 | 3¼ |
| Cross Of Lorraine | Tom Eaves | C Grant | 10 | 9-3 | 5 | 0 | 62 | 20/1 | 7.6 | 6.67 | 5.4 | 6 | 16 | 24 |
Ursus held up far side, headway 2f out, stayed on to lead well inside final furlong, ran on, 1st of 8 in group
Ancient Cross tracked stands' side leaders, effort 2f out, led that group inside final furlong, kept on, just held by far side, 1st of 8 in group
The Bear led far side to well inside final furlong, no extra near finish, 2nd of 8 in group
Steel Blue raced stands' side, led after 1f to inside final furlong, kept on same pace, 2nd of 8 in group
Balakiref held up stands' side, headway over 1f out, kept on final furlong, 3rd of 8 in group
Rabbit Fighter tracked far side leaders, driven over 2f out, kept on same pace inside final furlong, 3rd of 8 in group
Bid For Gold prominent far side, driven from halfway, rallied, one pace final furlong, 4th of 8 in group
Rainbow Fox chased far side leaders, effort over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 5th of 8 in group
Forzarzi behind far side, headway over 1f out, never reached leaders, 6th of 8 in group
Staked A Claim took keen hold, behind stands' side until some late headway, never reached leaders, 4th of 8 in group
Darcy´s Pride led 1f, close up stands' side until weakened from 2f out, 5th of 8 in group
Jun Fan close up far side until weakened over 1f out, 7th of 8 in group
Lake Chini prominent stands' side until ridden and weakened from 2f out, 6th of 8 in group
Rue Soleil prominent stands' side, driven halfway, weakened well over 1f out, 7th of 8 in group
Paris Bell towards rear far side, shortlived effort over 2f out, soon beaten, last of 8 in group
Cross Of Lorraine behind stands' side, ridden and lost touch halfway, tailed off, last of 8 in group
Opinion was split between the riders over where the best place was to be, with nine going over to the far side and eight coming up the stands' side. In the end, there appeared to be no definite advantage, with the winner and the third coming from the far side group and the second and fourth stands' side.
URSUS has been something of a revelation since dropping back to sprinting and followed up his win over 5f on good to firm ground last time with a success under very different conditions. He was kidded along by his rider towards the back before switching out and making headway inside the final 2f, getting up late on.
His trainer feels 6f is his best trip and, while he is keen to get as much racing into him as possible while Ursus is in such good form, he will wait and see how the gelding comes out of this before deciding if he will take up his engagement at Hamilton on Tuesday.
Steel Blue continues to come down the weights and looks on an attractive mark now but always seems to find one or two too good.
Balakiref finished well. He has taken a little longer to come to hand this year and it would be no surprise to see him go close next time.
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