raced wide, held up, mid-division, chased leader 9f out til 4f out, soon ridden, weakened over 2f out
keen, held up, ridden and outpaced over 3f out, went 3rd over 1f out, kept on, no chance with winner
slowly into stride, early reminders in rear, ridden over 6f out, never dangerous
keen, held up in rear, ridden to improve over 3f out, soon beaten
raced wide, close up, chased leader 4f out, led and edged left over 2f out, ran on final furlong, comfortably
tracked leader to 9f out, remained prominent, weakened over 2f out
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, not much room after, lost 2nd inside final furlong
ASKAR TAU is chasing the five-timer and he is a confident pick over Casual Affair and Always Bold. Marcus Tregoning's colt has been in great form of late and there was no sign of his winning sequence coming to an end when he won comfortably beating Ollie George at Newmarket last month. This looks a good bit of placing by connections and it will be a surprise if he is not good enough to win again. Casual Affair finished behind City Stable here last time so if he goes well in the 3.30 then that will give the form a big boost. Always Bold returned to form to finish third behind Jagger here last time and the stable are in sparkling form at present. Rationale hails from a shrewd yard so a market check is advised, but Askar Tau is in good form and he can win again.
Greenwich Meantime 14-1 (8-11) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, outpaced over 1f out, no impression after, 6th of 12, 6l behind Red Gala (9-9) at Chester 1m 5f lst hcp (1) gf in Aug.
Desert Sea (IRE) 16-1 (9-6) Mid-division, ridden 4f out, soon behind, 6th of 10, 14l behind Gee Dee Nen (9-4) at Ascot 2m hcp 0-100 (2) gs in Aug.
Absolut Power (GER) 11-10fav (9-2) last of 7, 25l behind Darsalam (9-2) at Dortmund 1m 6f Grp 2 gd in Oct '04.
Rationale (IRE) 7-1 (9-4) Mid-division, lost touch from 3f out, soon beaten, 13th of 14, 20l behind Muhannak (9-13) at Kempton 1m 3f hcp 0-90 (3) pol in Aug.
Askar Tau (FR) 11-4fav (8-6) Chased leaders, led over 2f out, driven clear inside final furlong, readily, won at Newmarket 1m 7f hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Aug beating Ollie George (9-11) by 3 1/2l, 12 ran.
Casual Affair 4-1 (9-13) Close up, ridden over 3f out, chased leader briefly 1f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 9, 2 1/2l behind City Stable (9-1) at Great Leighs 1m 6f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Aug.
Always Bold (IRE) 15-2 (8-10) Tracked leaders, ridden to chase leader 3f out, stayed on same pace from over 1f out, 3rd of 12, 2 1/2l behind Jagger (9-2) at Great Leighs 1m 6f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Aug.
