slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway over 2f out, one pace under pressure final furlong
ridden to lead after 1f, headed 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, kept on
soon ridden in mid-division, behind final 3f
soon prominent, ridden halfway, soon weakened
behind, hard ridden 3f out, no real headway final 2f
prominent, ridden 3f out, weakened approaching final furlong
in touch, effort centre over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, good headway on outside to track leaders 5f out, led narrowly 2f out, carried head high under pressure approaching final furlong, pushed clear inside final furlong
prominent, ridden halfway, weakened 3f out
in touch, ridden over 4f out, soon weakened
mid-division, headway on outside 5f out, joined winner and upsides 2f out until no extra and held inside final furlong
The most open event on the card and our three against the field are Desert Cristal, Serieux and Alfonso, with the last named just having the edge. The Barry Hills trained three-year-old has shown his best form with cut in the ground, as he proved at Ayr last time when finishing a close up fourth behind Eboracum. His previous effort when just pipped by My Paris at Newmarket also reads well and he looks certain to go close off a decent racing weight. Desert Cristal was most impressive when landing a classified event at Goodwood last time and should go well under Frankie Dettori. However, Serieux has a decent chance of reversing form with that rival being ten pounds better off for five length beating. The two Richard Hannon runners Lord Links and Cello are also worth considering, but Alfonso isn't overburdened here and gets the vote.