made all, clear over 6f out, ridden over 3f out, unchallenged
chased winner, ridden over 3f out, no impression
chased leaders, ridden and headway over 3f out, one pace after
held up in rear, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 3f out and tailed off over 2f out
towards rear, driven along over 8f out, headway over 3f out, soon weakened
chased leaders, ridden and went 2nd briefly over 5f out, weakened over 2f out
In this year's running of the Doncaster Cup, we are going to side with the remarkable Persian Punch. Second in this race last year and in 1997, and third in 2000, he is a truly remarkable, admirable and heart-warming racehorse. One thing you can guarantee about him is this he will never short-change you and his presence in the field adds a great deal of attraction to it. The selection was beaten one-and-a-half lengths by Zindabad on today's terms at York last time, so it ought to be close between them again. Dusky Warbler was a length and a half behind the selection at Sandown in July and is now two pounds better off so, again, it should be very close between them. He does, however, come here with his stable sounding very bullish. Hugs Dancer disappointed in the Ebor but won that race in 2002, and also won this year's Chester Cup. He is very useful on his day and, if at his best, commands respect. Savannah Bay was five lengths behind Persian Punch in the Goodwood Cup but is now three pounds better off. This leaves Pole Star, who was ahead of Persian Punch when second in the Henry II Stakes earlier in the campaign, and just behind the same horse when then third in the Ascot Gold Cup. It all adds up to a compelling race and, in the final analysis, we'll opt for Persian Punch, but we realise that plenty of sentiment is attached to the decision.
