in touch, driven to chase leaders 2f out, stayed on well final furlong
led, edged left over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra
prominent, driven to challenge over 2f out, soon faded
in touch, pulled hard early, driven and headway over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
mid-division, headway 2f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, readily
tracked leaders, pulled hard, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, headway over 2f out, every chance and hung left approaching final furlong, kept on same pace
Division two of the Wood Ditton once again sees plenty of equine blue blood in opposition, and it is the well touted Benjamin Franklin that gets the nod over Motaraqeb, with Ask and Valverde others to note. Aidan O'Brien has a strong team of three-year-olds this season, and it is interesting that Benjamin Franklin has been mentioned a lot in dispatches from Ballydoyle. The son of Danehill currently has four Group 1 entries including the Vodafone Derby for which he was supplemented after some encouraging work. At 85,000gns he could turn out to be a snip, and with Kieren Fallon on board today, will be strongly fancied to make a winning start. Motaraqeb is a 160,000gns son of Grand Lodge who is sure to be placed to good effect, while stablemate Ask is by Sadler's Wells out of a Ranbow Quest mare. Valverde's breeding suggests that a mile is about as far as he will get, and Tropical Climate and Evening both hail from the in-form stable of Barry Hills. It is nice to see Pat Eddery saddle a runner in a race that he knows all about, but Poseidon's Secret is one of the lesser lights here, despite being related to smart US performer Sunstone. If the vibes are correct Benjamin Franklin is the one to be on.
Ask Sadler's Wells colt out of a lightly-raced mare.
King's Spear (IRE) Lear Spear colt out of 6f & 7f winner First Veil.
Minister of State Machiavellian colt, brother to the top-class Medicean, half-brother to winning miler Moon Goddess.
Mookerr (IRE) Mtoto colt out of a moderate racemare.
Motaraqeb Grand Lodge colt, half-brother to 7f-1m4f winner Always First.
Petrovich (USA) Giant's Causeway colt, half-brother to 1m4f winner Pharma West.
Poseidon's Secret (IRE) Night Shift colt, half-brother to 1m1f and 1m2f winner Sunstone and winning hurdler Polish Legend.
Valverde (IRE) Sinndar colt, half-brother to 3 winners including useful sprinter Russian Valour.
Evening Mark of Esteem filly, half-sister to 7f winner Menai Straights.
Tropical Climate (USA) Lear Fan filly, Half-sister to 1m3f winner and winning hurdler Pikestaff.
Benjamin Franklin (IRE) Danehill colt, half-brother to several winners up to 1m1f.
