ridden, ridden 2f out, edged left final furlong, headed inside final furlong, weakened
towards rear, keen, pushed along over 2f out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on
mid-division, headway over 1f out, one pace final furlong
held up towards rear, headway approaching final furlong, soon switched left, ran on
close up, ridden over 1f out, weakened final furlong
close up, ridden and every chance 1f out, kept on same pace
mid-division, pushed along halfway, headway and not clear run approaching final furlong, ran on close home
The conditions of this Group 3 contest give Court Masterpiece every chance of reversing recent form with Naahay, who is a game performer but looks anchored by his 5lb penalty today. The connections of last year's winner of this race, Trade Fair, and Arakan - winner of a Listed race over six furlongs here on his reappearance, will no doubt argue the toss, as both colts are high-class individuals that should not be written off just yet. The former, who bolted in by four lengths in last season's renewal, has failed to give his running in both his last two starts and has lost a few friends as a result. However, his trainer has been at a loss to pin-point the reason and has always been adamant that there is more to come from the son of Zafonic. Even so, his latest start was far from inspiring and he is reluctantly passed over in his repeat bid. It could also pay to wait for another day with Arakan, as he, in turn, ran poorly last time. The drop to seven furlongs may bring about a better effort from him and the betting market will give a solid indication as to whether his connections think his dip in form has just been a minor set-back. That said, Court Masterpiece is likely to be sent off at much more attractive odds than his profile suggests he should and he may represent the best bet in a tricky race to solve. The Ed Dunlop-trained colt has overcome a series of training set-backs to put in a couple of sound efforts already this term. There has to be the suspicion that he needed those outings and should be cherry ripe now that he is fully fit. The son of Polish Precedent loves to strike late off the back of a strong pace - which is virtually guaranteed with his Goodwood conqueror Naahay in the field. However, a 19lb turnabout at the weights is more than enough to suggest that Court Masterpiece is capable of reversing the placings today.
