held up in rear, headway 2f out, soon ridden and effort, stayed on well to go 2nd inside final furlong
tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, one pace under pressure final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden over 2f out, soon beaten
held up in touch, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, no extra final furlong
Fairmile is selected here ahead of Mashaahed and Pinpoint. Fairmile looked to be in good heart when scoring in good style in a decent Conditions Stakes race at York last time and, with ratings marginally making him the best horse in the contest, he gets our vote in this Listed race. Mashaahed is rated just a pound behind the selection and, with Group-placed form to his name this season, he rates as a major player, as does Fairmile's former stable companion Pinpoint, who has proven himself to be a classy handicapper. For us the others need to improve if they are going to get seriously competitive and, once again, for the selection, we return to Fairmile.
Fairmile 7-2 (9-2) Held up, smooth headway over 3f out, led over 2f out, soon ridden, clear entering final furlong, won at York 1m 2f stk (3) gd in Oct beating Sunshine Kid (8-11) by 3l, 9 ran.
Mashaahed 14-1 (9-3) Keen, held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden and effort inside final furlong, stayed on, took 2nd place close home, 2nd of 13, 3/4l behind Windsor Knot (9-3) at Newmarket 1m 1f Grp 3 (1) sft in Oct.
Pinpoint (IRE) 33-1 (9-11) Chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 16th of 34, 9l behind Pipedreamer (8-12) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcap (2) gf in Oct.
Rock of Veio (IRE) 14-1 (9-0) Chased leaders, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, no impression and eased inside final furlong, 2nd of 4, 7l behind Tobosa (8-11) at Doncaster 1m 3yo stk (2) gf in Sept.
Silca Key 33-1 (8-11) Reared start, held up, pushed along over 2f out, headway final furlong, never nearer, 7th of 16, 6l behind Short Skirt (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 2f lst fll stk (1) sft in Oct.
Viva La Flag (USA) 13-2 (8-4) Tracked leaders, effort approaching final furlong, kept on same pace, 4th of 6, 2 1/2l behind Teslin (9-4) at Newmarket 1m 2f 3yo hcp (2) frm in Sept.