slowly away, behind, pushed along over 4f out, no impression
held up towards rear, pushed along and no impression over 2f out, kept on from over 1f out to take never dangerous 4th inside final furlong
held up toward rear, ridden over 3f out, no impression, well beaten final 2f
chased leaders, pushed along over 3f out, soon beaten, edged right over 2f out, well held after
held up in rear, ridden and effort from over 2f out, went 3rd inside final furlong, no impression on front pair
chased leader, challenged over 2f out, led well over 1f out, soon pressed, stayed on well and going away towards finish
raced freely, held up in 4th, closed over 3f out, switched left over 2f out, ridden and edged left over 1f out, soon pressing winner, no impression towards finish
set good gallop, edged left 2f out, soon headed, faded into 5th inside final furlong
The unbeaten Dewhurst winner Too Darn Hot has obviously had his problems and this is a big test. John Gosden’s colt won easily at Newmarket and third-placed Anthony Van Dyke did the form no harm in the Lingfield Derby Trial. He’ll need to win this comfortably to justify his short odds for Epsom. The latter’s yard have swept all before them in the trials and JAPAN (NAP) looks another for them. His pedigree is all about middle-distances so he did well to land a Group 2 at Naas over a mile on his final start. Line Of Duty improved out of all recognition from landing a Goodwood maiden to winning a Group 3 at Chantilly then the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and his pedigree suggests he’ll be better over this sort of trip. Victories at Nottingham and Newcastle would hardly qualify Surfman for this but Roger Varian’s superbly-bred colt has been supported for Epsom and is highly regarded. Almania is by Australia so what he achieved as a two-year-old was a bonus and he could be the dark horse of the race.
Almania (IRE) 10-11fav (9-5) Tracked leading pair, went 2nd over 4f out, led inside final 2f, ridden and headed over 1f out, rallied gamely to regain lead final 50 yards, won at Sandown 7f mdn stks (5) gs in Aug beating Buffalo River (9-5) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Japan 11-2 (9-3) Tracked leaders, 3rd halfway, switched right under 2f out and ridden over 1f out, kept on well inside final furlong to lead close home, won at Naas 1m Grp 2 stks (1) gd in Sep beating Mount Everest (9-3) by shd, 7 ran.
Line Of Duty (IRE) 7-2 (8-10) Drift out,in,bmp,up, won at Churchill Downs 1m gs in Nov beating Uncle Benny (8-10) by 1/2l, 14 ran.
Nayef Road (IRE) 9-4fav (9-9) Made all, shaken up over 1f out, ran on, comfortable, won at Newmarket 1m 2f hcp (3) gd in May beating Fraser Island (8-10) by 5l, 5 ran.
Surfman 1-8fav (9-4) Made all, came clear on bit 3f out, canter, won at Newcastle 1m 2f stks (5) pol in Apr beating Frequency Code (8-11) by 14l, 7 ran.
Telecaster 10-11fav (9-2) Tracked leader, led over 7f out, made rest, came clear over 2f out, stayed on strongly, won at Windsor 1m 2f stks (5) gd in Apr beating Deal A Dollar (9-2) by 9l, 16 ran.
Too Darn Hot Evensfav (9-1) Keen until steadied back after 1f, close up, pushed along and switched right 2f out, headway entering final furlong, edged left and led inside final furlong, ran on, (impressive), won at Newmarket 7f Grp 1 stks (1) gf in Oct beating Advertise (9-1) by 2 3/4l, 7 ran.
Turgenev 11-4 (9-1) Tracked clear leading pair, closed over 3f out, led 2f out, soon ridden, headed inside final furlong, lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 7, 1 1/4l behind Cape Of Good Hope (9-1) at Epsom 1m 2f lst (1) gd in Apr.
