led, pushed along and headed 3f out, ridden 2f out, no extra final furlong
held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, weakened final furlong
steadied at start and held up towards rear, pushed along 3f out, effort and one pace final furlong
took keen hold to track leader, pushed along 2f out, led approaching final furlong, quickened clear inside
held up, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and ran on final furlong
prominent, quicken pace to lead 3f out, headed approaching final furlong, stayed on same pace
chased leaders, effort over 2f out, no impression
An interesting contest here and one that appears to lay between Fiefdom, Zabeel Palace and Strawberry Dale, with Fiefdom getting the vote. Mark Johnston's yard continue to be in tremendous form, and Fiefdom has plenty going for him here. The most experienced runner in the field, the colt appreciated the step up to six furlongs when winning on firm ground at Doncaster last month, and ran better still when just failing to follow up last time at Ascot. Seven furlongs promises to see him to even better effect, and with faster ground than last time apparently in his favour, we will take him to score. Strawberry Dale took a Carlisle maiden over five furlongs in good style at the beginning of the month, and James Bethell is also producing winners. She is bred to stay a good deal further than that, which could well have been a bonus, so she is not dismissed readily here, and with improvement likely she can again go very well but is just opposed this time. Of the others Zabeel Palace commands respect from connections that do well here, and he must come on a fair bit for his debut outing. Just how much is open to debate and he is perhaps best watched again this time, unless the market advises otherwise. Without that knowledge we are happy to pledge our allegiance to Fiefdom to land the prize.
