led, ridden over 2f out, weakened, headed close home
raced in 3rd, pushed along over 2f out, hung left, ridden over 1f out, ran on well to lead close home
tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
in touch until ridden, weakened 2f out
Carte Royale can take this potentially trappy little opener for Mark Johnston, with Silver Wraith and Bibury Flyer likely to be the ones to chase him home. Stanley Chin again takes the mount on the colt, who showed that he handles it like a road when winning at the first time of asking at Carlisle last month over the minimum trip. Clearly there should be a fair bit more to come as he ran green that day, and Johnston has not rushed him into a second run, giving him over a fortnight to freshen up. He is the one they have to beat. Silver Wraith took a bit longer to get the hang of things before coming good, also over this trip, at Brighton under Kieren Fallon last time. The bare form of that effort was not as good as the selection's and with three runs under his belt there is unlikely to be as much improvement in him either, but he can again go well. Bibury Flyer has not been beaten too far in three attempts, but does not look to be as good as either of the other pair when that form is scrutinised and may again have to settle for third, though Richard Hannon's pair should not be dismissed out of hand and clearly the market should be watched in case there is any confidence behind either. Even so, they would have to be pretty good to get the better of our selection here, Carte Royale.
