chased leaders, went 2nd halfway, led briefly just inside final 2f, lost 2nd inside final furlong and soon outpaced
led in centre and set good pace, headed 2f out, weakened rapidly and eased final furlong
in touch, quickened to lead over 1f out, soon wandered approaching final furlong, kept on well
in touch until ridden and weakened approaching 2f out
in touch, effort 2f out, soon one pace and beaten
took keen hold early, held up and always in rear
dwelt, held up, effort 2f out, unable to quicken over 1f out, ran on well inside final furlong, took 2nd near finish
took keen hold and held up in rear, headway under pressure 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, not pace to reach leaders
always prominent, effort 2f out, ridden to chase winner inside final furlong, kept on well, caught for 2nd near finish
chased leader to halfway, stayed close up until weakened approaching final furlong
A race to savour as some top juveniles clash, with Grand Reward taken to enhance his reputation ahead of Blue Tomato, Tahreeb and Holborn. The latter comes from the very much in-form stable of Mick Channon who has won the Mill Reef twice in the past five years, with Golden Silca and Zafeen, and makes more appeal than stablemate Compton's Eleven based on the opposition taken on so far. However, this is Holborn's toughest task to date and he will do well to beat Grand Reward who returns to the scene of his debut victory. Aidan O'Brien's inmates were not firing on all cylinders when he hacked up in the style of a smart youngster, so that performance was all the more commendable. Grand Reward missed the Coventry Stakes due to a shoulder problem and might not have been back to his best when finishing third to Balmont in the Gimcrack at York. However, he was only beaten half a length after being hampered and his work since at Ballydoyle has been exemplary. Mick Kinane prefers him to the stable's other runner Born In America and has probably made a wise choice. Blue Tomato has a useful turn of foot as shown when landing a competitive York nursery last time, but this is a lot harder, and a bigger danger will be Tahreeb who has come on leaps and bounds since winning a Goodwood maiden and who is not out of place here. Nor are Byron and Treasure House, but they too will do well to get to Grand Reward who can take this en-route to a host of entries in all the big back-end juvenile events, with next year's Vodafone Derby also on the agenda.
