not much room start, held up behind, ridden and headway on outside over 1f out, ran on to lead final 100 yards, kept on
raced keenly, tracked leader on outside, ridden and effort over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden 2f out, never able to challenge
in rear, outpaced 2f out, soon ridden, never near leaders
tracked leaders, headway on outside over 2f out, ridden to lead narrowly entering final furlong, headed final 100 yards, kept on
tracked leaders, ridden and every chance over 1f out, kept on under pressure, no extra towards finish
soon led, ridden over 1f out, headed entering final furlong, kept on, no extra towards finish
mid-division, ridden to chase leaders over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, no impression
tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced 2f out, weakened final furlong
keen early, tracked leaders, ridden and lost place inside final 2f, no impression final furlong
Yashrid may prove hard to beat here but we'll take a chance on VALID REASON proving up to the task; Balletlou and Valiant Knight are others to consider. Amanda Perrett's charge looks well treated on his maiden victory over the now 96-rated Balducci and ran well on his return from a small break at Newbury. That effort confirmed he's on an upward curve and he saw out the trip well, so with progression likely he might just defy a 2lb rise and beat Yashrid. Michael Jarvis' son of Rahy did well to score at Wolverhampton last time and looks the type to keep finding more when the pressure is applied, so there's every chance he's got a race in him off this revised rating of 82. Balletlou made a winning debut at Salisbury and shaped that day as though he'd find even more improvement for stepping up to this distance, so while the second horse has let the form down there can be no denying his superiority at the death and an opening rating of 79 appears fair enough. Valiant Knight will need to settle better than he did last time if he's to score but that run behind Con Artist looks good and he's fortunate to race off the same mark, while Blitzed is another horse who looks set to appreciate this stiffer test. Kerchak was held off this rating last time but again the step up to 1m4f may open the door to more although he's going to need it to if he's to beat the likes of Yashrid and Valid Reason, with the latter preferred.
Yashrid (USA) 5-4fav (9-4) Tracked leaders in 4th, led over 1f out, ridden and edged right inside final furlong, held on towards finish, won at Wolverhampton 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Jun beating Cloudy City (8-11) by 1/2l, 11 ran.
Countess Comet (IRE) 11-4 (9-7) In touch in 5th, pushed along 4f out, weakened 2f out, last of 7, 20l behind Christopher Wren (9-3) at Newbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gf.
Valid Reason 9-1 (9-1) Soon tracked leading pair, headway on outside over 1f out,went 2nd final 100 yards, stayed on strongly to press winner to line, just failed, 2nd of 7, shd behind Christopher Wren (9-3) at Newbury 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-85 (4) gf.
Balletlou (IRE) 20-1 (8-4) Slowly away, raced in rear, headway over 4f out, soon chasing leaders, led 2f out, edged left, ran on well, won at Salisbury 1m 2f mdn stks (5) gf in Jun beating Sir Walter Raleigh (8-11) by 6l, 10 ran.
Valiant Knight (FR) 7-2 (9-0) Tracked winner, effort over 1f out, unable to quicken inside final furlong, 2nd of 5, 3/4l behind Con Artist (9-2) at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-90 (3) gf in Jun.
Heart Of Hearts 11-4 (8-9) Tracked leading pair, went 2nd going well 3f out, led 2f out, ridden and stayed on inside final furlong, won at Newbury 1m 4f mdn stks (4) gf beating Dance Tempo (9-0) by 1/2l, 11 ran.
Missionaire (USA) 14-1 (9-4) Held up in rear, pushed along 3f out, some headway over 2f out, soon no progress, 8th of 12, 13l behind Arctic Cosmos (9-4) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jun.
Kerchak (USA) 5-1 (8-10) In rear, headway over 2f out, chased leading pair over 1f out, no impression final furlong, 3rd of 9, 4l behind Jutland (9-7) at Epsom Downs 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gf.
Blitzed 7-2 (9-2) Held up mid-division, headway over 3f out, ridden and chased winner over 1f out, stayed on towards finish, 2nd of 10, nk behind Viewing (8-11) at Lingfield 1m 2f mdn auc stks (6) pol in Jun.
Beat Route 66-1 (8-3) Soon led, headed 2f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 12, 12l behind Arctic Cosmos (9-4) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Jun.