slowly into stride, soon tracked leaders, ridden halfway, soon weakened
with leader, led 1f out, ridden and ran on
tracked leaders, outpaced halfway, ridden and stayed on final furlong
led, headed 1f out, ridden and ran on
held up towards rear, never dangerous
held up, soon pushed along in rear, headway over 1f out, never dangerous
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, in touch, ridden halfway, weakened over 1f out
Cases can be made for a number of these but Cold Climate has been banging on the door and edges the vote over Mistral Sky and Albashoosh, who also arrive here with solid chances on recent form. The same has to be said of Polar Impact, whose latest run looks good in the context of this race and he should go close despite having to shoulder top weight. Yet another to consider is St Austell, who enjoyed a good little spell last summer but has not been seen out since. A market move will obviously confirm whether he is expected to need this on his first start for just over a year. Minstral Sky has been unfortunate enough to come up against a few that have been slightly more determined in a finish of late and again looks sure to run his race, while Albashoosh's record of only 3 wins from 44 starts is hardly the most inspiring reading when contemplating a play to large stakes. Admittedly Cold Climate has a similar profile in that he should have won more races than he actually has. But factor in the determination in a finish and it leads to the conclusion that they will all have to be on song to get past Cold Climate near the line.