slowly into stride, behind, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, final furlong, nearest finish
raced near side of group, held up towards rear, pushed along and some headway over 2f out, ridden inside final 2f, never really on terms
some late minor headway, towards rear most of way
took keen hold, held up towards rear, some headway over 2f out, ridden and weakened 2f out
led and set good pace, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and headed inside final 2f, lost 2nd over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, held up in last pair, headway far side of group over 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, edged right and kept on in 4th inside final furlong, no chance with leading duo
chased leader, pushed along and lost 2nd 2f out, soon ridden chasing leading pair, ridden and one pace inside final furlong, no chance with 1st 2
held up in mid-division, good headway near side of group over 2f out, soon chased leaders, went 2nd over 1f out, stayed on under pressure inside final furlong, strong challenge near finish, just failed
held up in mid-division on near side of group, ridden 2f out, no headway
held up in mid-division on far side of group, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
dwelt, always in rear, never a factor
chased leaders. hung left over 2f out, soon weakened, behind and eased inside final furlong
tracked leaders in 5th, weakened 2f out
tracked leaders on far side of group, 2nd 2f out, led inside final 2f, ridden inside final furlong, strongly pressed last strides, held on gamely, all out
NonRunner
Not many fillies run in this but those that do boast a decent strike-rate. Aidan O’Brien saddled Somehow to finish fourth last year and RHODODENDRON has far more class. Her last nine runs have come at the highest level and she won last year’s Prix de l’Opera at Chantilly as well finishing second in the 1000 Guineas, Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. She only faded close home in her prep run in the Prix Ganay and the likely fast pace will help her cope with the drop back to a mile. Addeybb has won five of his seven starts and took the step up to Group 2 company at Sandown in his stride last time. He’s developing into a smart miler but the going is an unknown. This trip is probably too far for Limato and Librisa Breeze while the ground may be too quick for Zabeel Prince but last year’s runner-up Lightning Spear is a decent each-way bet again given he goes well fresh and finished ahead of Zonderland, Beat The Bank and Lancaster Bomber in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in the autumn. Alexios Komnenos is open to further improvement this year and is worth monitoring for future reference.
Accidental Agent 2-1fav (9-0) Held up in touch, headway chasing leaders over 2f out, 3rd and one pace final furlong, 3rd of 7, 2 1/2l behind Century Dream (9-0) at Ascot 1m lst stks (1) sft in May.
Addeybb (IRE) 6-4fav (9-1) Raced wide early, held up tracking leaders, smooth headway on outside 3f out, went 2nd 2f out, ridden to lead 1f out, quickened clear inside final furlong, impressive, won at Sandown 1m Grp 2 (1) gs in Apr beating Stormy Antarctic (9-1) by 2 3/4l, 8 ran.
Alexios Komnenos (IRE) 3-1 (9-3) Ran freely in 4th early, 5th 2f out, ridden and headway to 3rd over 1f out, dropped to 5th final 150 yards, no extra, 6th of 7, 2 1/4l behind Suedois (9-8) at Leopardstown 1m Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Sep.
Beat The Bank 4-1 (9-1) Held up and always towards rear, 10th of 15, 11 1/4l behind Persuasive (9-1) at Ascot 1m Grp 1 stks (1) sft in Oct.
Deauville (IRE) 6-4fav (8-13) Tracked leaders, pressed winner 2f out, ridden to lead narrowly over 1f out, headed towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Forest Ranger (8-13) at Newmarket 1m 1f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Apr.
Dutch Connection 15-2 (9-3) Raced stand side slow into stride in rear, pulled up over 4f out, at Newmarket 7f Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Oct.
Lancaster Bomber (USA) 11-2 (9-0) 11th of 15, 14 3/4l behind Benbatl (9-0) at Meydan 1m 1f Grp 1 gd in Mar.
Lightning Spear (9-0) 10th of 14, 5 3/4l behind Beauty Generation (9-0) at Sha Tin 1m Grp 1 gd in Dec.
Limato (IRE) 6-4fav (9-3) Raced stand side tracked leader, led overall over 1f out, ridden clear, won at Newmarket 7f Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Oct beating Massaat (9-6) by 3 1/2l, 11 ran.
Suedois (FR) 8-1 (9-0) 3wd,4wd,rallied, 4th of 14, 1 1/2l behind World Approval (9-0) at Del Mar 1m gd in Nov.
War Decree (USA) 4-1 (9-1) Reluctant loading, tracked leading pair, switched right and went 2nd over 1f out, ridden and stayed on same pace inside final furlong, no chance with winner, 2nd of 5, 1 1/4l behind Forest Ranger (9-1) at Chester 1m 2f Grp 2 stks (1) gd in May.
Zabeel Prince (IRE) 10-11fav (9-0) Made all, pressed over 2f out, ridden 1f out, kept on well towards finish, won at Doncaster 1m lst stks (1) sft in Mar beating Born To Be Alive (9-0) by 2 1/2l, 6 ran.
Zonderland 66-1 (9-4) Held up towards rear, never involved, 8th of 15, 10 1/4l behind Persuasive (9-1) at Ascot 1m Grp 1 stks (1) sft in Oct.
Rhododendron (IRE) (8-12) 4th of 7, 5 1/2l behind Cracksman (9-2) at Longchamp 1m 2f Grp 1 stks gd in Apr.
Lahore (USA) 5-1 (9-2) Held up in rear, headway on outside over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 6th of 9, 8 1/2l behind Emmaus (9-2) at Leicester 7f lst stks (1) hvy in Apr.
Librisa Breeze 6-1 (9-0) 9th of 13, 8 1/4l behind Jungle Cat (9-0) at Meydan 6f Grp 1 gd in Mar.
