held up in mid-division, effort to chase leaders over 1f out, not quickened final furlong
in mid-division, weakened 2f out
dwelt, held up in rear, not clear run over 2f out until approaching final furlong, ran on well, not reach leaders
tracked leaders going well, led just inside final furlong, soon clear, comfortably
soon outpaced in rear
led to 3f out, stayed close up until weakened final furlong
slowly away, behind, ridden and kept on same pace final 2f
held up in rear, not clear run over 2f out until approaching final furlong, ran on, never nearer
pulled hard in touch, one pace final 2f
in touch, ridden halfway, weakened 2f out
pressed leaders, led narrowly 3f out, headed just inside final furlong, soon lost 2nd and faded towards finish
pressed leader for 3f, weakened 2f out
soon in touch on inner, ridden and headway 2f out, stayed on to go 2nd inside final furlong
There is likely to be plenty of pace on here and it would be no surprise to see Espada try and draw the sting out of his field today. However, Majhool has some useful course form to his name and he is marginally preferred over Ripple Effect, who will be a popular choice after going close on her latest start. Ripple Effect was well beaten when she was last tried over seven furlongs and she is reluctantly overlooked today. Of the rest, Muqtadi is capable of causing them all a few problems and is not one to rule out too quickly in spite of his less than convincing profile. However, Majhool comes here on the back of a short winter break and will very hard to beat if his record when fresh is anything to go by. The booking of Ian Mongan is also another big positive and we take Majhool to confirm the form with Ripple Effect over his ideal trip.