The favourite Tradesman followed up his good second in the recent P J O'Shea Stakes (Gr 2, 2200m) with a solid staying effort in scoring here. He settled in seventh place (three deep), steadily advanced to fifth in the mid-stages before moving up (still wide) to put pressure on the leaders nearing the home turn. He then finished gamely to grab victory in the closing stages after being trapped deep most of the way. The $26 chance First Crush had a nice trip in fourth place, improved well approaching the home turn, took the lead halfway down the straight, only to be overhauled in the closing stages for a close second after running a bold race. All In Vogue, an $81 outsider, was back in second last place in the 11-horse field until nearing the home turn and then ran on well for third from Smart As You Think, who had been beyond midfield before making a wide move at the 600m and then battled on quite well for fourth.