slowly away, ridden to chase leaders after 2f, ridden over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out
towards rear, ridden over 2f out, stayed on to take third close home
held up towards rear, ridden and headway over 2f out, not troubled leaders
held up, ridden and outpaced 3f out
ridden to lead, headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong
held up, headway 8f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, driven out
towards rear, outpaced 4f out
tracked leader, ridden and every chance over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
Plenty of ifs, buts and maybes about this race but maybe the one to be on is Dahjee, with Gift Voucher, Roman Forum, Stage Right, Meissen, Qudraat and Recollecting others to consider. Being a half-brother to Dubai Millennium, the selection has to be seriously considered from the Godolphin camp, although it is slightly worrying that he is introduced to racing over this type of trip. Golan's half-brother Gift Voucher is surely better than his Newbury debut effort might have implied, that last comment also applying to the Henry Cecil-trained Roman Forum, a brother to the 1,000 Guineas winner Wince, who made late headway on his racecourse debut but was still beaten 11 lengths by the useful Mutassalil, who has won well since. Pope's Hill is bred for this sort of trip but he has looked short of gears so far, while Stage Right should appreciate being stepped up to middle-distances, and Sandown runner-up Meissen should appreciate the step up to 12 furlongs even though the value of his Sandown second last time should not be overstated. Recollecting showed promise on his racecourse debut last autumn and is another that will appreciate today's trip, and Qudraat got the hang of things late on at Sandown last time, although the form of the race has not exactly worked out particularly well. As with a number of these, the betting might provide a good guide but, for today, we will side with Dahjee.
