led, ridden and headed over 2f out, kept on same pace
held up in touch, headway 3f out, led over 1f out, kept on well
chased leader until over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
chased leaders, led over 2f out, headed over 1f out, not pace of winner
Nonrunner
Whilst it has not always been the case that the top rated filly wins this Group 3 Middleton Stakes, Promising Lead can confirm the assessor's rating on this occasion, with Soft Morning and Samira Gold the most likely dangers. From what we have seen of Promising Lead she should have too much class for these. Trip and ground are both in her favour, she is lightly raced and open to plenty more improvement, and the form of her second to Satwa Queen in the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera at Longchamps last October marks her out as the one they all have to beat. If there is to be an upset then Samira Gold could well be the one to do it. Luca Cumani is firing in the winners and this filly won four of her seven starts last season to earn a rating of 106. She was not far away in a Group 3 over 1m 4f at Ascot last backend and the return to 10 furlongs will, if anything, be a plus. She acts on decent ground and can be the one to take advantage if the favourite is under the weather. Sir Mark Prescott is barely getting going as far as the turf is concerned, and Soft Morning is a rare runner for him so far this season. However, the maestro is still churning the winners out on the all weather and this Pivotal filly has trip and going to order, so she has to be taken seriously. Under The Rainbow has ability and it will be interesting to see how she goes with this drop back in trip, Sell Out and Ronaldsay may just be short of this class, while Flying Clarets is worth a try in the grade and if Richard Fahey can find any improvement then she might get competitive. Even so, this race is all about Promising Lead and if Sir Michael Stoute's filly retains her ability then she should win.
Flying Clarets (IRE) 2-1 (9-11) Soon led, ridden before straight, headed 1 1/2f out, dropped to 4th and no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 7, 2 1/2l behind Truly Mine (9-11) at Dundalk 1m 3f lst fll stk (1) pol in Apr.
Promising Lead 12-1 (8-11) Held up, 7th straight, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out until caught last strides, 2nd of 11, hd behind Satwa Queen (9-2) at Longchamp 1m 2f fll stks Grp 1 (1) gs in Oct.
Ronaldsay 7-2 (8-9) Held up in touch, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 6, 15l behind Championship Point (9-0) at Ripon 1m 2f stk (3) gs in Apr.
Sell Out 10-1 (8-11) Mid-division, ridden and headway over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong, 4th of 16, 1l behind Short Skirt (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 2f lst fll stk (1) sft in Oct.
Under The Rainbow 50-1 (8-9) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 10, 11l behind Getaway (9-1) at Newmarket 1m 4f Grp 2 (1) gf.
Samira Gold (FR) 4-1 (8-7) Slowly into stride, mid-division, ridden and steady headway from over 2f out, stayed on final furlong, 3rd of 12, 2l behind Trick Or Treat (9-0) at Ascot 1m 4f fll stk Grp 3 (1) gs in Oct.
Soft Morning (8-11) Soon led, pushed along straight, ridden over 1f out, headed 150yds out, lost 2nd final strides, 4th of 15, 2l behind Willywell (9-2) at Deauville 1m 1f stk in Dec.
