The shortlist contains Acrobatic, Madroos and Burnbank, with the vote given to Madroos. After knocking at the door on a couple of occasions, Music Note saw it open at Nottingham last time, but he lacks a run this season although, on the upside, this does not look to be a strong affair. Acrobatic failed to build on his Bath win last time at Windsor, so maybe has something to prove now, while Ollie George needs to improve on what has been shown thus far. Madroos is a lightly-raced John Dunlop runner that improved on his third run last term, which came on soft going. Grey Paint's best effort to date has come at Wolverhampton, while Burnbank showed distinct promise when chasing home Airbuss at Epsom last time, although the winner has been beaten from his revised mark since. Finally, Zafantage showed a liking for soft last season, so could not be entirely ruled out despite some modest recent efforts. Overall, though, we will take a chance on Madroos.
Music Note (IRE) 5-2jt-fav (9-0) Mid-division, headway when not clear run 2f out, squeezed through 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, driven out, won at Nottingham 1m 2yo mdn (5) gd in Sept beating Semi Detached (8-11) by a hd, 14 ran.
Acrobatic (USA) 4-1 (9-3) Prominent, went 2nd 5f out, hard ridden 2f out, weakening when not much room approaching final furlong, 5th of 11, 4l behind Polliwilline (9-1) at Windsor 1m 3yo hcp (4) gf in Apr.
Ollie George (IRE) 13-2 (9-3) Slowly into stride, always towards rear, 12th of 17, 18l behind Ivy Creek (9-3) at Warwick 1m 3yo mdn (5) gs in Apr.
Madroos 14-1 (9-0) Mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 17, 4 1/2l behind Shariki (9-0) at Nottingham 1m 2yo mdn (5) sft in Oct.
Grey Paint (USA) 20-1 (8-9) In touch, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 7th of 11, 14l behind Bin Rahy (8-10) at Chepstow 1m 3yo hcp (4) sft.
Burnbank (IRE) 7-1 (9-1) Held up mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, stayed on to take 2nd near finish, 2nd of 13, 2l behind Airbuss (9-1) at Epsom 1m 1f 3yo hcp (5) gd in Apr.
Zafantage 12-1 (9-2) Held up, ridden 2f out, never dangerous, 10th of 13, 12l behind Oceancookie (9-12) at Warwick 7f fll hcp (5) gd.
