close up, ridden 3f out, weakened 1f out
raced keenly early, held up, ridden and effort over 1f out, weakened final furlong
tracked winner, ridden over 1f out, no impression final furlong, lost 2nd post
in rear, ridden and outpaced from over 2f out
held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, headway and switched right entering final furlong, stayed on to take 2nd post
made virtually all, set steady pace, quickened over 3f out, ran on final furlong (hand timed)
Nonrunner
Recent winner SPECIAL RESERVE looks worth siding with again here and is nominated ahead of Talayeb. The selection was last seen just over a fortnight ago when he was able to win by a comfortable length at Windsor. He is penalised for that success accordingly but the stable are in fine form and there might be more to come from this Sadler's Wells colt. The main danger may be Talayeb who was third on his comeback at Ascot; he steps up in trip today and should not be ruled out by any means. Wasp and Spell Caster need to bounce back from disappointing efforts, whilst Baylini would be interesting if getting the strong tempo that he normally needs. Bulletman represents a stable going well and the booking of Ryan Moore must be classed as a positive, whilst Regional Counsel needs to improve. This looks a good opportuniy for Special Reserve to win again.
Wasp (AUS) 16-1 (8-12) In rear, ridden over 3f out, never trouble leaders, 10th of 16, 6l behind Flawed Genius (8-10) at Thirsk 1m hcp 0-100 (2) gf.
Spell Caster 4-1 (8-10) Chased winner to over 1f out, ridden and weakened final furlong, 5th of 7, 9l behind Midships (9-4) at Newmarket 1m 2f 3yo hcp (2) gf in Sep.
Special Reserve (IRE) 3-1fav (9-1) Held up, steady headway from over 1f out, shaken up to lead inside final furlong, asserted towards finish, pushed out, won at Windsor 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gf beating Indian Skipper (8-11) by 1l, 10 ran.
Regional Counsel 10-1 (8-12) Tracked winner, ridden an effort 2f out, lost 2nd over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 7, 4l behind Mr Aviator (9-4) at Kempton 1m 2f hcap (3) pol in Mar '08.
Baylini 66-1 (8-7) Slowly away, behind, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened, 5th of 6, 20l behind Duncan (8-12) at Ascot 1m 4f Listed stks (1) gf.
Bullet Man (USA) 12-1 (8-9) Slowly into stride, mid-division, effort 3f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 13, 7l behind Stone Of Scone (9-4) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Apr.
Talayeb 14-1 (8-9) Chased leaders, went 2nd 2f out, ridden over 1f out, one pace and lost 2nd inside final furlong, 3rd of 19, 5l behind Trafalgar Bay (9-5) at Ascot 1m hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Apr.