held up, driven along over 3f out, stayed on same pace final 2f
towards rear, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong
led, pushed along over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on until headed well inside final furlong, no extra close home
held up behind leaders, pushed along over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, ran to lead well inside final furlong, kept on
tracked leader, raced wide over 4f out, effort over 2f out, soon beaten
slowly into stride and behind, driven along over 3f out, never dangerous
A small but competitive field lines up for this classified stakes race with the likes of Alsharq, Torrens and Suivez Moi all having claims but the vote goes to Venetian King. The selection showed his best form stepped up to nine furlongs at Ripon two starts ago when third behind subsequent King George V winner Munsef with Rathor (runs in 2.45pm) in second place. A reproduction of that effort should suffice for Howard Johnson's gelding. Shankly Bond probably did not beat a great deal when landing his maiden at Beverley and was well beaten back in a handicap on the all-weather last time, while Queen's Dancer needs to improve on recent form to win this. Top weight Bronze Dancer was well held over course and distance last time and of more interest may be Alsharq, who now steps up to a distance more in keeping with his pedigree. Richard Fahey's Torrens showed his best form of the season at Leicester last month and is another worthy of respect along with Peter Chapple-Hyam's Nottingham third Suivez Moi but Venetian King has an obvious chance and gets the vote.
Bronze Dancer (IRE) 25-1 (8-5) Tracked leaders, ridden, weakened over 2f out, 7th of 8, 17l behind Sacranun (9-2) at Pontefract 1m 2f 3yo hcp (4) gf in Jun.
Shankly Bond (IRE) 9-1 (9-1) Behind, some headway over 1f out, never dangerous, 7th of 12, 12l behind Spear (9-5) at W'hampton 1m 4f 3yo hcp (5) pol in Jun.
Suivez Moi (IRE) 14-1 (9-0) Chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 8, 4l behind Bureaucrat (10-0) at Nottingham 1m 2f 3yo stk 0-70 (5) gd.
Venetian King (USA) 9-4fav (8-11) Prominent, ridden to lead over 1f out, soon headed, no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 13, 1l behind Alpine Reel (9-11) at Thirsk 7f mdn stk (5) gd in May.
Alsharq (IRE) 4-1 (8-12) Held up, ridden well over 2f out, headway over 1f out, kept on, 5th of 12, 6l behind Malcheek (9-5) at Thirsk 7f 3yo hcp (5) gf in Jun.
Queen's Dancer 10-1 (9-4) Slowly into stride, soon in mid-division, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 10th of 16, 14l behind Hidden Chance (9-4) at Windsor 1m 2f fll hcp (5) gf in Jun.
Torrens (IRE) 16-1 (9-2) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 4th of 12, 3l behind Real Cool Cat (8-1) at Leicester 1m 2f 3yo hcp (5) gf in Jun.
