I spent a lot of time looking at the good horses in the tie-up stalls. The Williams team of Green Moon, Masked Marvel and Seville demanded most attention. Nick Williams was a bit of a distraction grandstanding in front of his horses, but I finally decided I couldn’t come at Green Moon, mainly because he was very niggly, resisted being saddled up, and needed a strong strapper hold. And also because he let me down this time last year and I have no forgiveness in me. The other two were quite cool, although Masked Marvel was easy to cross out because of the cross-over nose band and Seville had his ears back and was dumping in the yard. Fiorente looked a picture of perfection and was so relaxed he was even yawning in his tie-up. Side Glance and Super Cool also had the cross-over nose bands, a real no-no. If you backed Long John you did your money cold as he was pig-rooting in the parade ring. Shamus Award had no faults apart from a tongue tie, which hardly counts as a fault. It’s A Dundeel was vetted before the race and although passed fit to run was a serious query, given his foot abscess. Puissance De Lune was OK, but had the winkers, which I still don’t like. Rekindled Interest had the cannon bandages. Happy Trails was a clean sheet. My final selections in order were Fiorente, Happy Trails, Shamus Award. I backed Fiorente for the place and was quite happy with the $2.70. Didn’t bother with a tri! A maiden winner. Who would ever have thought?