took keen hold, held up, in last trio, pushed along and outpaced over 2f out, soon behind
tracked leaders, on outside, went 2nd 7f out, ridden and every chance over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong, no chance with winner
soon led, on near side rail, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
led briefly, took keen hold and settled 3rd 7f out, struck on head by rival\'s whip 2f out, soon squeezed through, led over 1f out, ridden and quickened inside final furlong, ran on well
took keen hold, tracking leaders on rail, not clear run and switched right 2f out, 4th and no impression inside final furlong
steadied start, held up last, switched right to outside 5f out, pushed laong over 2f out, soon not quicken, ridden and no headway inside final furlong
held up, in last pair, headway on outside tracking leaders 4f out, went 3rd and one pace final furlong
chased leaders, pushed along edging right 2f out, weakened soon after
It’s been nearly a year since JOHANNES VERMEER won a Group 1 at Saint-Cloud having finished second in the Racing Post Trophy before that. It would be no surprise if Aidan O’Brien has him primed for this return and he gets the nod to get the better of Custom Cut. The latter is without a win so far this year but was runner-up in a Group 2 at Leopardstown last month and is weighted to beat both winning handicapper Carry On Deryck and the returning Listed winner Big Baz. Muffri'Ha has come up short in pattern company before and so has Abdon while Andre Fabre’s Ancient History tries his luck at this level having won a conditions race in France last time.
Big Baz (IRE) 7-1 (9-5) Close up, ridden over 2f out, unable to quicken over 1f out, driven and stayed on towards finish, 4th of 12, 4 1/4l behind Captain Joy (9-5) at Lingfield 1m stks (2) pol in Mar.
Carry On Deryck 20-1 (9-5) Tracked leaders stands side, driven to lead group over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, overall leader when headed inside final furlong, kept on same pace, 2nd of 31, 2 1/4l behind Spark Plug (9-4) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcp (2) gf in Sep.
Custom Cut (IRE) 9-2 (9-4) Tracked clear leader until ridden over 2f out, faded final furlong, 5th of 6, 6 3/4l behind Cougar Mountain (9-4) at Newmarket 1m Grp 2 stks (1) gf in Sep.
Muffri'Ha (IRE) 11-2fav (9-10) Made most, ridden and ran on final furlong, won at Newmarket 1m hcp fll (2) gf in Oct beating Crowning Glory (8-10) by 1 3/4l, 12 ran.
Abdon 9-4 (8-7) In rear, pushed along over 2f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 9, 6 3/4l behind Secret Number (9-0) at Ayr 1m 2f lst stks (1) sft in Sep.
Ancient History (IRE) (8-13) won at Maisons-Laffitte 1m 2f stks gd in Sep beating Rajkumar (8-13) by nk, 7 ran.
Johannes Vermeer (IRE) 5-2 (8-13) won at Saint-Cloud 7f Grp 1 stks (1) hvy in Nov beating Stormy Antarctic (8-13) by hd, 8 ran.
Light Up Our World (IRE) (8-11) 12th of 15, 10 3/4l behind Trixia (8-11) at Deauville 1m Grp 3 stks gd in Aug.
