set steady pace, ridden over 1f out, driven inside final furlong, headed near finish
disputed 2nd, every chance inside final furlong, pushed along to lead near finish
keen, disputed 2nd, switched left 2f out, soon ridden, effort inside final furlong, no impression towards finish
close up in 4th, headway to dispute 2nd 3f out, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
Nonrunner
Belgian Bill won the Betfred Mile at Goodwood last year but hasn't raced since a winter campaign in Dubai and wouldn't want any more rain. Sinfonietta makes a quick reappearance after finishing second at Salisbury on Tuesday. Big Whiskey is better on the all-weather but another Polytrack winner, Light And Shade, showed she handles all surfaces when winning for the second time at Ascot last month. KNIGHT OWL is also versatile and looked as good as ever when landing a competitive handicap at Newmarket on his reappearance. George Wood again takes off 7lb and James Fanshawe's six-year-old can defy a 4lb weight rise as Ghalib is better over shorter.
Ghalib (IRE) 6-1cfav (9-3) Mid-division, ridden and weakened inside final 2f, 12th of 17, 15 1/4l behind Blaine (8-8) at Epsom 6f hcp stks (2) gs in Jun.
Light And Shade 11-2 (9-3) Held up in last trio, headway 2f out, chased leaders inside final furlong, ran on under hand riding to lead final stride, won at Ascot 1m hcp fll (2) gf in May beating Tutu Nguru (8-6) by shd, 9 ran.
Knight Owl 20-1 (8-8) Tracked leaders, led over 2f out, ridden out, won at Newmarket 1m 1f hcp stks (2) gs in Apr beating Examiner (8-10) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
Starboard 12-1 (9-5) Held up in rear, pushed along over 3f out, well beaten final 2f, last of 12, dist behind Sinfonietta (8-3) at Nottingham 1m hcp (3) hvy in Apr.
Belgian Bill (9-1) Slowly into stride, mid-division, chased leaders 400m out, ran on same pace final 300m, 5th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Tryster (9-1) at Meydan 1m 2f stks gd in Feb.
Big Whiskey (IRE) 12-1 (9-6) Held up mid-division, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 7th of 15, 4 3/4l behind Welliesinthewater (8-5) at Doncaster 7f hcp (3) gf in Jun.
Sinfonietta (FR) 5-1 (9-9) Soon led, headed over 4f out, led again over 2f out, headed entering final furlong, stayed on same pace, 2nd of 13, 2 3/4l behind Storm Ahead (8-5) at Salisbury 1m hcp (2) sft in Jun.