soon led, strongly pressed and hard driven inside final furlong, stayed on gamely
in touch, headway on inside 2f out, chased leading pair, one pace final furlong
slowly into stride, soon ridden in rear, moderate late headway
chased leaders, chased winner 3f out until over 1f out, weakened final furlong
in touch, headway to chase winner over 1f out, strong challenge final furlong, no impression near finish, always held
chased winner to 3f out, soon ridden, weakened 2f out
Dubai's Touch can bounce back with a win over Water Mill, Norisan, St Philip and Habalwatan. Dubai's Touch was most progressive last year, winning three times in all, but he was all at sea on the heavy ground when well beaten in the Horris Hill at Newbury on his last outing. The son of Dr Fong is better then that, and on this faster surface, he is taken to make his first try at a mile a winning one. The stable has been generally ticking over nicely during the winter, and there is no reason to suppose that he will not be straight enough. Water Mill was quite a costly purchase, and went a little way to repaying his lofty price tag when making a winning debut here in September. He was then put away with a view to being aimed at the UAE Derby, but runs here instead. Norisan is battle-hardened but exposed, while both Prime Defender and St Philip have winning form but need to step up a gear. Clive Brittain is never afraid to go for glory with seemingly lesser individuals, and it sometimes pays off, so course-and-distance scorer Habalwatan should not be totally ruled out, with fitness on his side. However, with conditions to suit, it is Dubai's Touch that gets the vote.
Dubai's Touch 12-1 (8-12) Prominent to halfway, soon behind, last of 10, 30l behind Dijeerr (8-12) at Newbury 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) hvy in Oct.
Danebury Hill 8-1 (8-12) Held up, never dangerous, last of 10, 18l behind Thousand Words (8-12) at Newmarket 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) sft in Sept.
Habalwatan (IRE) 7-2jt-fav (9-4) Held up, headway over 2f out, soon ridden, every chance inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 9, hd behind Chookie Hamilton (8-6) at W'hampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp (4) pol in Jan.
Norisan 20-1 (9-0) Always behind, 7th of 8, 21l behind Caldra (9-0) at Ascot 1m 2yo Grp 3 (1) gs in Oct.
Prime Defender 3-10fav (9-0) Made virtually all, ridden over 2f out, ran on, won at W'hampton 6f 2yo stk (3) pol in Nov beating Onenightinlisbon (8-9) by 2 1/2l, 8 ran.
Valdan (IRE) 40-1 (9-1) Always behind, 11th of 13, 7l behind Hinton Admiral (9-3) at Lingfield 7f 3yo lst stk (1) pol.
Water Mill (USA) 7-1 (8-12) Crossed over from wide draw and soon led on rail, hard driven final furlong, held on all out, won at Kempton 7f 2yo stk (3) pol in Sept beating Black Rock (8-12) by a shd, 9 ran.
St Philip (USA) 9-1 (8-12) Led, headed over 2f out, soon weakened, 7th of 10, 3l behind Thousand Words (8-12) at Newmarket 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) sft in Sept.
