chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
prominent, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong
held up, ridden over 1f out, one pace final furlong
towards rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression
chased leaders 2f, soon edged left and behind
towards rear, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, not reached leaders
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, ran on to lead well inside final furlong
prominent, ridden over 2f out, edged left and one paced inside final furlong
led, ridden over 1f out, headed, no extra well inside final furlong
With the rain having come for him, Bond Boy can build on his promising seasonal return and is a sporting selection in this tricky sprint. Brian Smart's gelding has a bit to find on official ratings but, having sidestepped the Wokingham Stakes on account of Ascot's lively going, will find things more to his liking here. A good seasonal return at York should have also helped sharpen him up. By contrast, the going might have gone against Roger Charlton's very useful Border Subject or he would have been the selection. Somnus has so far failed to recapture last season's high-class juvenile form, although he is still the highest-rated horse in the line-up. Crimson Silk finished third to Tim Easterby's colt at Redcar last year, and he too comes into the equation. The former John Gosden inmate, Endless Summer, last ran when second in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes. If Kevin Ryan has got him back to near his best, he cannot be ruled out either. Tom Tun's Listed Doncaster win came on heavy and he is up against it here, but Peter Makin's 2001 Group winner, Sartorial, is quite capable of running well in this company. Indian Spark preceded his fair Royal Ascot run with a course and distance handicap win on heavy here in May. It would be no surprise to see him go well but, in a tricky and intriguing contest, we'll stick with Bond Boy.
