held up in touch, shaken up 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, led towards finish, held on well
tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
led, ridden inside final furlong, kept on and headed towards finish
tracked leader, ridden 1f out, no extra well inside final furlong
A tough contest to call with YAMAL just preferred to Vesuve and Cesare. Frankie Dettori retains the mount on the selection, on whom he has enjoyed three previous successes. Fast ground and a mile are ideal for him and we hope that the first-time visor will do the trick. Stablemate Vesuve has been keeping Group 3 company at Meydan and stays further than this mile. Albeit competitive, this does not look as tough as some of these recent runs and he is a leading player. Cesare is now on the downgrade, having not won for over two years. Formerly top class over this trip, recent efforts have not been quite so encouraging, and he has slipped to his lowest mark for three years. Even so, we respect his class and we dont' rule out a resurgence at this level. The other pair would appear to have plenty to find, though Smokey Oakey of course does go well here, though Yamal is preferred today.
Cesare 2-1fav (9-0) Held up, pushed along over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, no impression, 4th of 11, 7l behind Gitano Hernando (8-9) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f stks (3yo+) (3) pol in Sep.
Lucky Dance (BRZ) 25-1 (9-8) Soon prominent, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 12, 12l behind Kiwi Bay (9-5) at Redcar 1m hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Jun.
Vesuve (IRE) 25-1 (9-0) 8th of 14, 6l behind Calming Influence (9-0) at Meydan(UAE) 1m Group 2 sks (1) in Mar.
Yamal (IRE) 5-6fav (9-3) Tracked leaders, shaken up to challenge over 1f out, not quicken inside final furlong, 2nd of 5, 4l behind Hacienda (8-7) at Hamilton 1m cond Stakes (3) gf in Jun.
Smokey Oakey (IRE) 50-1 (8-11) Raced far side, held up in rear, never a factor, 22nd of 29, 25l behind Invisible Man (8-9) at Royal Ascot 1m hcp (2) gf in Jun.
