Charlie Boy was certainly helped by barrier one, enabling Blake Shinn to have him in the box seat on the fence with leader Rich Enuff drawing alongside him. Shinn kept Charlie Boy in the box seat and when a narrow gap opened to the inside of the leader in the straight, he pounced and the soft run proved decisive in the neck margin victory. Given the apparent fence advantage on the day, the run of Rock Sturdy showed he was in for a good campaign. He settled back in the field early in the race and was held up until the 300m mark before being eased out wide by Jason Collett to close strongly. Good Project also got back in the field at his first run back from a spell and lacked the zip of the second placegetter in the straight. He will appreciate a step up in distance later in his campaign, most likely at The Championships. Fourth-placed Generalife, who settled midfield on the rails, stuck to the fence and ended up coming along the same section of the track as Charlie Boy. Fifth-placed Rich Enuff, who comfortably dictated the race, wilted in the closing stages and was later found to have bled from one nostril and was banned for racing for three months.