held up, headway 5f out to join leader, ridden over 2f out, weakened final furlong
tracked leader, lost place over 4f out, headway on inside to dispute lead over 1f out, soon ridden and gained upper hand near finish
pulled hard, held up in rear, ridden and headway approaching final furlong, kept on but not trouble leaders
keen and close up, headway to dispute lead with winner over 1f out, still every chance until no extra close home
close up, ridden 3f out, hung left over 1f out, kept on one pace
led, ridden 3f out, headed over 1f out, weakened
Not surprisingly Desert Quest showed improved form when stepped up to 1m2f to win his maiden and, with further improvement to come over today's longer trip, he looks the one to beat with Eastern Breeze and Pagan Dance rated the main dangers. The selection is a well-related son of Rainbow Quest and is the least exposed of these after just two career starts. Once raced as a juvenile, Sir Michael Stoute's colt needed every yard of the trip to win at Windsor in April and, with the lack of a recent outing not a concern, he should be too good for his rivals. Eastern Breeze has been running well on the all-weather of late but recent efforts on turf have not been so good so he is probably best watched and a bigger threat to the selection may be Amanda Perrett's Pagan Dance. He has solid claims on the form shown when a close fifth in the Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap at the Royal meeting but has disappointed since. Castleshane has a progressive profile and is another worthy of a mention, along with Salute now that James Eustace's stable is hitting form but we are happy to stick with Desert Quest.
