held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, hung right over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
prominent, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
led after 1f, ridden and headed over 3f out, weakening when not much room over well over 2f out
held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, lost place over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
in touch, ridden over 3f out, kept on one pace
held up, ridden and switched right over 1f out, no impression
led 1f, stayed prominent, led again over 3f out, ridden and edged left over 2f out, headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up, headway 4f out, ridden over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
in touch, ridden 5f out, weakened over 3f out
tracked leaders, went lame, pulled up over 6f out
If Doyen can recapture his King George form then Godolphin's colt has to be respected but the son of Sadler's Wells ran so badly behind Azamour in the Irish Champion Stakes last time that he really cannot be backed with any confidence so preference is for Mister Monet. The selection showed his liking for a soft surface when landing a Group 2 event in France when last seen in August and with further improvement anticipated from Mark Johnston's three-year-old he gets the vote. Azamour has to be respected and is a worthy favourite on the strength of his Leopardstown win but the proximity of the frustrating Norse Dancer is of concern as is today's softer ground. Lucky Story, a stablemate of the selection handles cut in the ground but is better on a faster surface and probably lacks the scope of Mister Monet, while Refuse To Bend is the clear second string of Godolphin's two contenders, Naheef being nothing more than a pacemaker. With Aidan O'Brien's stable back among the winners Mingun, who comes here fresher than most, has to be respected but the vote goes to Mister Monet to continue his progression through the ranks.
