led, pushed along and headed over 2f out, ridden, no extra final furlong
held up, smooth progress over 3f out, led on bit over 2f out, driven out final furlong easily
prominent, pushed along over 3f out, effort over 2f out, soon behind
prominent, pushed along 3f out, ridden and stayed on, same pace final furlong
towards rear, effort over 2f out, never near to challenge
tracked leader, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
The John Dunlop-trained Muqbil sets the standard here and edges the vote over the lightly raced Kingsword and Bayeux, who look to be the most dangerous out of the rest. That said, King's Thought and Silver Gift still have plenty to offer and it may be a little early to be writing them off completely. However, Muqbil, winner of the Greenham Stakes last year, had his excuses when dropping out on his debut and looks well worth persevering with today. The faster conditions will help to bring the best out of the son of Swain and a much better effort is anticipated here. Sir Michael Stoute is a past master at getting the best out of horses like Kingsword and he will no doubt have an interesting campaign mapped out for his charge this term. However, the Dynaformer colt has a few questions to answer regarding the trip and this does look to be something of a scouting mission for future reference. Therefore, it can pay to stick with the proven form of Muqbil, who will rarely be presented with a better chance to shine than this.
