tracked leader, challenged and upsides from 2f out, carried left from over 1f out, driven to narrow lead 1f out, kept slight advantage throughout final furlong, held on gamely close home
held up in last pair, driven along and hanging over 2f out, plugged on inside final furlong to modest 4th last stride
mostly tracked leading pair in 3rd and 4th, went 3rd again under pressure over 3f out, one pace and no chance with leading duo final 2f
pulled hard, held up in last pair, ridden over 3f out, beaten soon after, eased when no chance final furlong, tailed off
led and raced away from inside rail throughout, joined 2f out, hung badly left on to winner from over 1f out, narrowly headed 1f out, stayed upsides and every chance throughout final furlong, just failed
tracked leading pair until over 3f out, soon ridden, outpaced final 2f, lost modest 4th last stride
Nonrunner
The absence of Patkai takes some of the gloss off of this Group Three contest but it's a race that often throws up an exciting finish and this year may prove no exception. On first impression LAAHEB may have been flattered by his Kempton success having been allowed to dominate but a previous second to Irish Field St. Leger winner Sans Frontieres reads very well and conditions are perfect, so he gets the vote to defy a penalty as he's entitled to on the ratings. Mikhail Glinka has his first start for Gary Moore and acts on the ground but the Queen's Vase form hasn't worked out particularly well and he may be done for speed so a bigger threat could be Whispering Gallery, closely matched with Laaheb and like that rival set to race under his optimum conditions. He arrives here at the top of his game following a Listed success at Windsor and is taken to fare better than Monitor Closely, who has strong form at this time of year to call upon but really does act better on a fast surface. Halicarnassus and Shahwardi both have pounds to find in a race taken to return to Sheikh Hamdan once more.
Laaheb 11-4 (9-4) Made all, hard driven and went clear over 1f out, eased near finish, won at Kempton 1m 4f Group 3 stks (3yo+) (1) pol beating Holberg (9-4) by 3 1/2l, 9 ran.
Halicarnassus (IRE) 50-1 (9-3) Held up in last pair, took keen hold, ridden over 2f out, soon edged left, no impression, last of 7, 11l behind Dangerous Midge (9-3) at Newbury 1m 3f Grp 3 (1) gd.
Monitor Closely (IRE) 6-1 (9-3) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, no impression on winner when lost 2nd inside final furlong, lost 3rd last stride, 5th of 7, 6l behind Dangerous Midge (9-3) at Newbury 1m 3f Grp 3 (1) gd.
Shahwardi (FR) 7-1 (9-12) Towards rear, moderate 6th halfway, closer entering straight, 4th under pressure early straight, no extra from over 1f out, 6th of 7, 12l behind Profound Beauty (9-9) at Leopardstown 1m 6f Listed stks (1) gd in Jul.
Whispering Gallery 14-1 (9-2) Made all, ridden over 1f out, edged left inside final furlong, stayed on gamely, won at Windsor 1m 4f Listed stks (1) sft in Aug beating Traffic Guard (9-2) by 1 1/4l, 7 ran.
Mikhail Glinka (IRE) 2-1fav (9-1) Tracked leading trio on outside, challenged 2f out, ridden to chase leader over 1f out, challenged and upsides throughout final furlong, led post, won at Royal Ascot 2m 3yo Grp 3 (1) gf in Jun beating Theology (9-1) by ns, 12 ran.
Patkai (IRE) 9-2 (9-0) Took keen hold, held up in 6th, steady heaway over 3f out, went 4 lengths 2nd and hung right over 2f out, driven and no impression on winner over 1f out, 2nd of 9, 3 1/2l behind Yeats (9-2) at Royal Ascot 2m 4f Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun '09.
