towards rear, ridden over 2f out, no impression over 1f out
with leader, ridden to lead approaching 2f out, badly hung right over 1f out, kept on, headed towards finish
towards rear, pushed along over halfway, never dangerous
in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly away, in rear, ridden and headway well over 1f out, ran on strongly to lead close home
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, one pace final furlong
mid-division, ridden halfway, soon behind
behind, ridden and headway when switched right well over 1f out, ran on well inside last, just held close home
in touch, ridden over 2f out, no impression over 1f out
led, ridden and headed approaching 2f out, weakened inside final furlong (hand timed)
A strong renewal of this competitive sprint can go to Forever Phoenix, who is just preferred over Steel Blue and Johnston's Diamond, who will both be hard to keep out of the frame if they hit the gates running. The same comments apply to Dazzling Bay, who is dropping to a more attractive mark after struggling with a rating of 105 after running away with the William Hill Sprint Trophy at this corresponding two-day meeting last year. However, he may still be a fraction high in the weights for a race of this nature and, like the ultra-game Halmahera, he is probably best saved for another day for win-only punters. Marsad is another horse that fits that profile as his tendency to find a few too good has been expensive to follow when he races away from Newmarket. That said, he ran a blinder when finishing third here at the start of last month and has obvious place claims if repeating the effort today. Forever Phoenix, in contrast, is still relatively unexposed on turf and, as a filly very much on the upgrade, she is worth giving another chance to here. The four-year-old was considered good enough to take her chance at Group level when entered in, what turned out to be, a messy Temple Stakes at Epsom at the start of this month - a run that is best forgotten as the lack of starting stalls led to her facing the wrong way when the tapes went up and she took no part in the race as a result. The daughter of Shareef Dancer is much better judged on her previous starts this season, which have created the impression that there is plenty more to come from her now that she has proved herself to be equally effective in racing back on turf. The in-form Steel Blue can be a tricky customer to deal with so the speedy Johnston's Diamond could be the one to put up the most resistance if the ground is a little too lively for Forever Phoenix to do herself justice near the finish. She has however, gone well on this sort of ground in the past and is given the benefit of the doubt today.
