broke well, soon held up, headway on outside 3f out, chased leaders over 2f out, weakened final furlong
made all, driven clear entering final furlong, ran on strongly
tracked leader, lost place over 2f out
held up in touch, outpaced over 2f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on into 3rd inside final furlong, never a threat
tracked leader, effort over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong
close up, chased winner over 1f out, kept on well, never reached winner
held up in touch, effort over 2f out, soon weakened
Arctic Sound won four of his six starts as a two-year-old, including a Group 3 over course and distance in the autumn. It would be no surprise to see him the firing-line but Mark Johnston muddies the waters by also saddling the tough Victory Command. Shine So Bright placed in the Richmond, the Mill Reef and the Gimcrack last summer so is another with strong credentials and Azano has the most scope of these after just three runs which included a second behind Saturday’s Greenham winner Mohaather at Newbury in October. SPACE TRAVELLER won his first two starts last season so fitness shouldn’t be an issue and he looks fairly treated. He may have gone over the top in the autumn and his yard did win this in 2013. Kuwait Currency is preferred to Dubai Dominion of the others.
Arctic Sound 5-1 (9-0) won at Newmarket 7f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Sep beating Bye Bye Hong Kong (9-0) by 1l, 7 ran.
Shine So Bright 3-1fav (9-1) 3rd of 7, 5l behind Kessaar (9-1) at Newbury 6f Grp 2 stks (1) sft in Sep.
Kuwait Currency (USA) 33-1 (9-1) last of 11, 21 1/2l behind Magna Grecia (9-1) at Doncaster 1m Grp 1 stks (1) gs in Oct.
Azano 7-1 (9-0) 2nd of 8, 1 1/2l behind Mohaather (9-0) at Newbury 7f Grp 3 stks (1) gs in Oct.
Victory Command (IRE) 16-1 (9-0) 12th of 13, 31 1/4l behind Sporting Chance (9-0) at Meydan 1m lst stks gd in Feb.
Space Traveller 5-1 (9-1) 7th of 10, 10 1/4l behind Vintage Brut (9-4) at York 6f lst stks (1) sft in Oct.
Dubai Dominion (8-12) 4th of 5, 5l behind East (8-9) at Saint-Cloud 7f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Oct.