close up, effort 3f out, soon ridden, weakened quickly 2f out
held up behind, headway 6f out, chased leaders over 2f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, took 3rd close home
tracked leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, soon headed and no extra final furlong, weakened towards finish
held up mid-division, ridden 5f out and weakened
close up, ridden along 3f out, soon weakened
in rear, some late headway final 2f, never nearer
in rear, steady late headway from 2f out, kept on well nearest finish
held up towards rear, ridden 4f out, kept on final 2f, never nearer
led until headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up behind, ridden 3f out and soon beaten
held up mid-division, headway 2f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, driven out
in touch, headway to lead 1f out, hard ridden and headed inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
held up towards rear, ridden 5f out, never dangerous
Top weight Double Honour ran well on his return to the flat in the Queen Alexandra Stakes last month but preference is for his former stable companion Mana d'Argent, who gets the nod over another Johnston inmate Knavesmire Omen. All of Mana d'Argent's four career successes have come at Ascot and, although never getting a blow in behind Sindapour in the Ascot Stakes, the six-year-old showed once again that he favours the track above all others by finishing a creditable sixth behind Martin Pipe's horse. The selection ran similarly in the same race 12 months ago before going on to win this and, off just a 6lb higher mark than then, he is taken to win again. Knavesmire Omen won a Listed race in Germany last time but is expected to find this tougher and a bigger danger could be Sir Michael Stoute's Distinction. The son of Danehill is open to improvement after just seven starts so far but is not a certain stayer. A similar comment applies to dual Sandown winner Sergeant Cecil, who steps up from 1m6f but is not guaranteed to last the extra two furlongs. David Elsworth's Saint Alebe and the Hugh Morrison-trained Tom Paddington are others to consider but we are happy to stick with course specialist Man d'Argent, who is taken to record his fifth career win at the track.