towards rear, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on final furlong
tracked leader, ridden over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, headed final furlong, rallied under ever chance inside last, no extra towards finish
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
towards rear, effort and headway over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, soon eased
towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, led final furlong, headed towards finish
prominent, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, kep on to lead towards finish
took keen hold in mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on same pace
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
behind, never dangerous
held up towards rear, ridden over 3f out, never dangerous
A hard race to call and the 'cop out' option of siding with Godolphin is resisted as Maidanni is overlooked and preference is given to Secret Pact, who is a tough performer that has done very little wrong in his starts so far. Night Of Joy has also fared well in the face of some hard tasks of late and should also make a bold bid; despite having the burden of top weight to carry. I'm Spartacus has been crucified by the handicapper after a series of luckless efforts that have seen him run well in defeat. He needs everything to fall just right for him here and it is hard to see him reversing the form with All right My Son on these terms. The last mentioned brushed aside a stiff test at the weights when scoring at Windsor eleven days ago and has to be given plenty of respect for that effort alone. However, he has a penalty to carry for his recent exertions and needs to post a career best effort today. Maidanni would have been given a stronger build up where it not for the fact that his maiden win at York looks very weak in comparison to some of the other form lines on offer. Therefore, we turn to Secret Pact, who has form on the ground and arrives here in great heart for the challenge before him. Typically for a Mark Johnston-trained horse, he stands plenty of racing and, as Kevin Darley swaps roles with Royston Ffrench taking the mount on I'M So Lucky, we take the view that Secret Pact is the preferred runner from the Johnston team today.
