tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 2f out, soon eased
held up, went 2nd over 2f out, led over 1f out, held on well
tracked leader, ridden and weakened over 2f out
in rear, headway well over 2f out, chased winner approaching final furlong, stayed on towards finish, always held
led, headed over 1f out, soon weakened
Invincible Prince wasn't given a hard time after he was squeezed out in an Ascot Listed race, however he might need to improve if the newcomer DANCING DAVID is to live up to his raft of big race entries. The market is always useful when assessing the chances of Brian Meehan's newcomers. He has introduced some very smart juveniles this season including Arcano and Lady Of The Desert and this Derby entry is from a classy family, gets plenty of weight from his rivals and has been the subject of some good reports from the gallops. Opera Gal was fairly well-held at Newbury on debut but she showed a good glimpse of her potential; that form may receive a boost at Leicester on Tuesday and she cannot be overlooked with the stable in form. First Cat was a course and distance winner last time out and the feeling is that this 76-rated gelding will need to find some more improvement if he is to follow up. On the ratings Raine's Cross is the one to beat; Peter Winkworth's Cape Cross colt won't mind the return to seven furlongs today and although he will be hard to place, his third to Black Snowflake at Goodwood arguably sets the standard. Dutiful may improve on his first run at Newbury in what looks a fair maiden, however he will need to, whilst a bigger threat may emerge from Invincible Prince. Ralph Beckett does well at the track and this colt has been given a break since his Ascot disappointment; his maiden win, when beating Hasty, reads well, however he may have a tough task conceding weight to all of his rivals. Dancing David is taken to make a winning debut before going on to bigger and better things.
Invincible Prince (IRE) 11-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 7, 32l behind Nideeb (9-2) at Ascot 7f 2yo lst stk (1) gd in Jul.
First Cat 20-1 (9-2) Mid-division, remindered 4f out, switched outside and ridden 2f out, headway over 1f out, ran on well inside final furlong, edged right and led post, won at Salisbury 1m 2yo hcp 0-75 (5) gd in Aug beating Flaming Miracle (9-4) by shd, 12 ran.
Raine's Cross 10-1 (8-13) Held up, ridden over 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong, no impression, 4th of 8, 2l behind Big Audio (9-2) at Salisbury 1m 2yo lst stk (1) gd in Aug.
Dutiful 66-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride, held up in touch, lost place over 2f out, 10th of 11, 10l behind Najd (9-3) at Newbury 7f 2yo mdn (4) gf in Aug.
Dancing David (IRE) Danehill Dancer colt out of Seek Easy.
Opera Gal (IRE) 25-1 (8-12) Led until 2f out, gradually weakened, 5th of 11, 9l behind Pounced (9-3) at Newbury 7f 2yo mdn (4) gf in Aug.